War of the Shadow Specters: Universe One
by Qudirl Rider Aeona
Summary: A girl is chosen to protect not only her own world, but the worlds created by the people who inhabit it. Why her? Because she is the only one able to push back the darkness. This entire Saga will be split into many stories according to the universes the protagonist visits. I do not own anything except for my OC's. Refrences of other manga will be present in this story.
1. Tragedy and Recovery

**Hey guys, so I'm starting a new story and I have to say, it is a huge project.**

**This saga will be split into many stories according to the universe the protagonist is in.**

**This story is not called a crossover because each separate story will surround the world she is currently in. But there will be mentions and references of other manga.**

**I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OTHER THAN MY OC'S AND THE PLOT.**

* * *

**Universe One**

**Tragedy and Recovery  
**

"Will you take this quest to protect all the worlds?"

The man in white stood in front of me as he asked the question. The portal behind him glowed with an unearthly light. A path to another universe.

"You have been trained for this, but now it is for you to decide if you will leave this world behind. Know that if you choose to leave, you may never have the chance to return."

I hesitated and thought of my reasons for following him. I might not come back to the world I was born to, but if I accepted, I would have the chance to protect the world and the people that I loved.

I raised my eyes to his and opened my mouth to answer…

* * *

_Ten Months Ago_

* * *

An annoying buzzing sound woke me up from my dream. I opened my eyes and struggled to keep myself from whacking the alarm clock as it kept going. I knew I needed to get up right away, but I decided to lie there for a couple of minutes, letting my brain slowly start running. I turned my head and frowned at the annoying buzzer. It wasn't that it woke me up from a good dream; I was actually relieved that I didn't have to finish it. It's been the same dream for the past two months.

Ever since my parents died.

The dream was always about a group of people arguing about whether someone was ready for something or not. I knew it was a girl since they kept on saying "she" or "her", but I didn't know if it was about me. I mean, they could've been talking about someone else, but it still felt weird.

What am I thinking? It's just a stupid dream.

I sat up and looked at my clock. 4:06 AM. As I turned off the alarm I could hear my foster mom bang on the wall, telling me to be quiet. I was an only child, so when the Child Family Services found me, I was immediately put in a foster home. I stood up and stretched myself out, trying not to fall asleep again in case the dream resumed. I've been waking up earlier every week when I realized that the dream would only follow for as long as I was asleep. Eventually the entire dream managed to fit into my sleep schedule, which meant I shortened the time for it again.

I left my room and headed down the hall to the bathroom, which was quite large compared to the bathroom at my old house, and started my daily early morning routine of a shower then hot bath until breakfast. As usual, I ignored the note for me saying I should stop using up all the hot water and started the shower. Since my parents died, I haven't cared much for anything. Not for school, not for what was left of my friends, not for my foster parents, not anything. I pretty much just closed my heart to everything and started living on a whim.

Sitting in the bathtub, I remembered the dog I fed on the way home from school the day before, and the cat that followed me around when I was walking in the park, and the birds that fed out of my hands when I called them. I'm not really sure why, but I knew I had some sort of connection with animals, any kind of animal. They are pretty much the only things I pay any mind to, besides the weird dream and the manga I read.

Yeah, you could say I'm crazy about manga. But I don't do much besides reading them. Oddly enough, I'm getting interested in more manga than before. Even the ones I told myself I wouldn't read. Like some of the more gory ones I never really looked at, Deadman Wonderland, Hellsing, Cerberus and other various manga.

I just couldn't seem to focus on anything else. It's not an obsession I wanted to have, but it's as if I was studying for a big test, like I needed to know as much as I could about all of them.

I looked over at the clock hanging by the mirror. Because I spent a long time in the bathroom, my foster dad put a clock in here so that I wouldn't hog it all day. But I had school so I got out and wrapped myself in a towel. After draining the tub I went back to my room and got changed. I looked myself over in the mirror. The faded jeans and Evanescence T-shirt I was wearing clarified how much I lost interest in dressing up. My brown hair was halfway down my back and was still damp from my bath, my eyes were a dull brown and my skin was pale from my withdrawal from the sun and society. My body shape was average and proportional with some curves, but I still noticed the thin layer of muscle that my body somehow managed to hold onto. I stopped dancing two months ago, so to me it was a miracle that I was still fit. I stopped looking at myself and walked towards the window. The rising sun lit my room with a light blue glow as I opened the curtains. I stood there for a while, letting the sun's warmth wash over me, before I turned around and grabbed my bag. Shoving my homework and manga into it, my foster mom came into the room.

"How early did you wake up this time?" She asked, leaning against the doorway. I glanced up at her before answering.

"Same as yesterday."

My foster mom sighed. "You know that staying up until twelve and waking up at four isn't healthy at all. You should be sleeping more."

I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked past her to the stairs.

"I know."

Walking to the kitchen, I grabbed a pack of pop-tarts from the cupboard before walking out the door. My school was a half-hour walk away, but I didn't care. I'm always thinking about something, so it doesn't feel that long anyways. Visions of the dream kept floating to the front of my mind. It was being annoyingly persistent today, like it was a ringing alarm telling me that something big was coming. I ignored it and put my headphones on, turning the volume on my iPod all the way up.

Crossing the street, I was about halfway across when a car came speeding down the street in my direction. I didn't see it until it was on top of me. The brakes were screeching, but it didn't stop fast enough. I couldn't move, it wasn't that I was too scared to, I really was trying. I could feel myself rocking forward to the sidewalk, but my feet were glued to the ground and I couldn't look away from the car. It only bumped me enough to send me off flying about a couple meters away. As soon as I made contact to the ground, my vision went black as I lost consciousness.

* * *

_Vague images of people in white, gathered in a large hall. Translucent orbs were floating all over the place, the largest of which was in the center of the room. There were lots of conversations but I could only make out a few of them._

"_Is she ready yet, the shadows are advancing as we speak."_

"_We must send her out now, else there will be no more time left!"_

"_She is young, but she will be powerful. Training her now is of the utmost importance."_

"_SILENCE!"_

_The entire hall went quiet. One of the older men stood up and spoke to the rest of the hall. It felt to me like he was the most respected figure there._

"_The young lady is not ready yet, but that does not mean we cannot begin her training now."_

"_How can she be trained if she has not fulfilled the requirements?"_

_One of the younger people stood up to speak. My vision of them was fuzzy, but they seemed to have oddly bright blonde hair. Or was it pink? I couldn't really tell._

"_How can we waste time training her if she does not even know who she truly is? She does not know of the power she holds, wouldn't that make her harder to train?"_

_The older man sat down and held his hands in front of his face, meshing his fingers, and continued to listen to the younger ones ranting._

"_We should be spending our time and energy looking for someone more capable, more than one if we can help it. Why should we rely only on this helpless girl who knows nothing? Just look at how many worlds we already lost because we waited." He gestured to the darker set of orbs closer to the edges of the room. "Look at how many stories have been turned off of their path. We are wasting time. If anything, we should at least gather an army to confront this darkness. And yet, why do we still sit here pondering about a measly girl?"_

_The younger person was panting after their outburst. Everyone else in the hall started whispering to each other, most of them agreeing to the young ones opinion. The older one raised a hand, silencing the hall again._

"_What time we have left is willowing away, which is precisely why we must make use of the resources we have in front of us. Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you don't. Even if we could muster up an army, we still don't know what the enemy's motives are or how they are taking these universes we have been protecting for all these years."_

_He turned towards the young one and spoke to them directly._

"_It is true that we have waited for too long, we believed that we could handle this problem on our own. It was our pride that led to the fall of these universes, therefore we must learn to throw that away and ask for help." He turned away from him and faced the rest of the hall._

"_The young lady I have set my hopes on has the potential to push back the darkness, in addition to the gift she has already been given by the stars of the creator. She has a pure spirit and a quick mind and has overcome her tragedy. We will begin her training immediately and you,"_

_He snapped to the youth who flinched under the older ones gaze._

"_You will be the one to train her."_

_The younger ones eyes opened wide at the order, but said nothing. It seemed to me like the old man's word is final. The youth quickly regained their composure and walked briskly out of the hall._

_The images in front of me were disappearing as everything faded into darkness._

* * *

I heard a blipping noise as I regained consciousness, and groggily opened my eyes to a foreign white ceiling. I immediately realized I wasn't in my room, as it was painted a light blue colour.

I turned my head to the right and found a heart rate monitor beside my bed. Looking around, I found from all the equipment that I was in a hospital room. I glanced down at myself and saw the IV needle stuck in my arm. As I moved my other hand to remove it, pain slammed into my body along with the memories of how I got there in the hospital.

Memories of my dream also entered my mind.

I slowly put my hand down as I thought about the dream I just had. It was very similar to the ones that kept repeating, it was the same place, the same people, and the same floating orbs. But this time it was different.

The door to the room opened slowly, interrupting my thoughts. A female nurse came in and was surprised to see me awake. She was a little taller than me, with blonde hair in a bouncy ponytail and she was wearing the usual blue nurse clothes with white sneakers. Her face was round and she had grey eyes with laugh wrinkles in the corners of them. She sighed in relief.

"Oh good, you're awake. The doctors said that you were in a coma and I came to put on the feeder tube."

I shook my head in disgust, I hated the thing. Another thought crossed my mind and I turned to the nurse.

"Wait, I thought you only give the feeder to people who are unconscious for a long time."

The nurse nodded as she moved to raise the bed and said.

"Yup, you were asleep for two and a half days. Gave your mom quite a scare."

I looked at the nurse right in the face before saying. "My mom is dead."

Her face changed to a confused look before I faced the ceiling and added. "That one is my foster mom."

Surprise crossed her face, followed by sadness.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." She turned away and started fiddling with some of the equipment.

"Don't be, I've gotten over it and I know my real parents would've been sad if I kept on crying about them gone."

With her back towards me, she stopped what she was doing for a second before continuing.

"So both of them are…"

"Yeah."

I glanced at her and winced when my head started hurting. I winced again when there was an even sharper pain in my left shin.

"Ow."

The nurse quickly turned around and walked right up beside my bed.

"Where does it hurt?" She asked with a calm face while reaching up and grabbing a clipboard hanging on the wall.

"My head, and my leg."

She nodded as she scribbled a few things onto the clipboard.

"Yeah, you got a nasty cut on your leg and you most likely hit your head when you landed on the ground."

She hung the clipboard back up and started walking towards the door.

"I'm going to go for a few minutes and tell the doctor you're awake. Please wait patiently and don't pull the needle out."

She stopped at the doorway and turned to look at me. Just in time to see me looking at her guiltily with my hand around the needle in my arm. I hated having it there and I really wanted to pull it out. But when she didn't leave and kept looking at me, I sighed and removed my hand. Once I did so, the nurse smiled and nodded her head before she walked out and closed the door.

* * *

**I actually wrote a lot more than this, but it was too long so I had to stop it here. The next chapter will be coming soon.**

**Please review, it will let me know what you like or didn't like about my story.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!  
**


	2. Long Awaited Beginning

**Angel's Last Songs: **No. She is in "Our" universe. I have a plan in place so just read and you'll find out more.

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **The flashback is going to take a while, but I'm having it that way to build up to the present and to let you know how heavy the situation is.

**Please bear with me, the flashback will be long but everything will make sense with it there. I'm really surprised that so many people have looked at this already. I know you guys have questions but they will be answered eventually.**

* * *

**Universe One**

**Long Awaited Beginning  
**

After waiting much longer than the nurse said she would be gone, the door opened and a tall man with brown hair walked in. He had brown eyes and a sharp nose with tired lines all over his face. He looked a lot like my dad. This brought painful memories up and I quickly squashed them down before the tears would appear. No, I wasn't going to let myself get emotional, it would only feel worse. Keep it cool. I mentally slapped myself before focusing on what was going on. He looked up from the clipboard he was holding, one identical to the clipboard the nurse scribbled on, and smiled.

"Oh good. Your awake, your recovery is going well I see."

I nodded my head before wincing at the pain the action brought me. A look of concern flashed across his face before he smiled again and walked towards my bed. He looked at the clipboard on the wall and nodded his head.

"You were lucky, that vehicle could've been going faster if they didn't see you walking across. But you still need to be careful when you're walking across the street."

I looked down at my lap and nodded slowly this time. I avoided looking at him like this. I heard him walk around the bed to check the heart rate monitor and other equipment. Once he was done, he turned to me with a small flashlight in his hand.

"Now I'm going to give you a check-up and I need you to answer some questions as well. Can you do that?"

I nodded and he proceeded. He did what doctors usually do in a "Check-up". He flashed the light in my eyes, checked my ears, heart rate and breathing. He asked me to move specific parts of my body to check for pain and I appreciated that he kept his distance. He changed the bandage on my leg and gasped at what I saw.

Most of my leg was an angry red with a long slash on my shin from my knee to my ankle. Most of the blood was crusted and dark red, sticking to the cut area. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but it still hurt when the doctor moved my leg to wrap it with new bandages. He had a grim look on his face as he worked on me. Once we were done, and my leg had clean wrappings, he got up and walked towards the door.

"I'll let your friends and family know that you are doing alright and I'll bring them in here to visit. It's best not to keep them waiting any longer than they already did."

I nodded and he smiled before walking out.

I lay back down and let my thoughts drift. Eventually, memories of the dream came up front like an alarm. Thinking it over, I nodded to myself. This time it was definitely different from all the other dreams. It didn't end in broken arguments, there was a final decision. But it still didn't help that I didn't know what they were talking about.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!"

My attention snapped to the door and I sat up as my foster mom ran and almost jumped on me. She stopped at the last second to spare my injuries. Almost instantly her face went from one of relief, to one of anger and worry.

"I told you to get more sleep; you collapsed because you didn't get enough."

"No, I was hit by a car. I was completely fine until then."

I looked up at her and answered coolly. She froze and she sighed.

"Even so, you're going to need to sleep now since you need to recover. Are you hurt anywhere?"

She tilted her head as she looked at me. I stared at my lap.

"I just have a head ache and a cut on my leg. Nothing to worry about."

I shrugged before lying back down. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her hesitate before speaking.

"Are you sure you're alright? I know things have been stressful lately and I just want to help you live a better life. Even if I can't replace your real mom, I want to help as much as I can."

At the mention of my mom, I felt a tingle in my nose. I moved my right arm and let it lie over my eyes, hiding them from view.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

My voice cracked, traitor. Unfortunately, my foster mom noticed and I could hear her walking away. They stopped at the doorway, but I kept my eyes covered.

"Please… sleep some more and get better."

When I didn't respond, the walking resumed and I heard the footsteps fading down the hallway. Fighting the tears that were leaking out, I squashed the memories and feelings of my mother. No emotion. It's better this way, then it doesn't hurt. I turned my thoughts back to my dream, I had been interrupted twice so I really wanted to be alone. When the nurse came back I told her that I needed some privacy and she nodded in understanding before she fixed some of the medical instruments and left.

I finally had some time to think. I mentally ticked things off on my list. One, the needle was annoying as hell. Two, I can't believe I got knocked out by such a light bump from the car and why couldn't I move? Three, the dream was different. I stopped and thought about the second one.

That fact that I couldn't move at all was surprising. I played chicken with cars before so I wasn't scared of getting hit, but I'd never been stuck in place like that before. It was like my feet were attached to the ground, or that they had been held down with incredibly heavy weights. No matter what I did, I could not move from that spot.

I turned my head to the side and looked at the medical equipment. It was the usual heart monitor and the stand that held the IV needle bag. I stared at the numbers on the monitor and – wait… is that a person? I quickly looked away from the reflection and checked by the wall…no one was there. Turning back to the monitor I saw that the reflection of… whoever it was, disappeared.

Idiot, it was just your imagination. You hit your head remember?

I reminded myself of that as the pain in my head slowly grew. My eyes grew wide as I realized that the reflection looked like one of the people in my dream. I smiled to myself and slowly shook my head. Now I know I was hallucinating, there was no way someone from my dream was real. The dream was different this time, so I wonder…

I heeded my foster mom's words and closed my eyes, willingly letting sleep envelope me. My eyes opened again to a white ceiling. I blinked, confused. What happened? I thought I went to sleep. Is this real or am I dreaming. I sat up and looked around. It was the same hospital room. I pinched myself just to be sure and smiled when nothing happened. It wasn't a dream.

Jumping out of bed with a smile, I wondered if I dreamt at all. I ran to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was a mess and there were still traces of the shadows under my eyes but I didn't care, the repetitive dream didn't come to me.

Walking back towards my bed I spotted the covered tray on the table beside it. I glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was evening already. Doing the math in my head, I slept for around eleven hours. My stomach growled, reminding me of the food on the tray. So I sat down on the bed and ripped off the foil before digging in.

Once I was finished I started walking towards the bathroom again and did my business. As I was washing my hands, the soap slipped out of my hand and onto the floor. Reaching down to pick it up, I saw my bandaged leg. I frowned at my leg. It doesn't hurt anymore, like it was fully healed or the cut was never there. Curiosity got the better of me as I finished washing my hands and started unwrapping the bandage.

I gasped at what was left of the cut. There was only a thin line that was slightly lighter than my skin. There was no blood besides what was on the bandages, no red colour or swelling. It was… healed. But how can such a serious cut heal so quickly? A lot of different theories rushed through my head. But the longer I thought about it, the more outrageous those theories became. I decided to ask the doctor about it later as I threw the bandage away.

Coming out, I was surprised to see the nurse gathering the tray. As soon as she saw me standing there, she jumped and immediately came towards me.

"You shouldn't be walking around with that leg, it's not fully healed yet."

She looked down and gasped as soon as she saw my leg. Crouching down, she examined and poked my leg, looking at the thin line and finding no other trace of it having been there. She stood up again with a confused face, biting her bottom lip.

"This is incredible, how could it have healed so quickly?"

She muttered to herself as she led me back towards the bed and scribbled on the clipboard. As she was writing, she kept on stealing glances at me and my leg. Once she finished, she walked out with the clipboard in hand.

I sighed as I plopped down heavily on the bed. There was no way my leg healed that fast naturally. Again, those outrageous assumptions came back to me, the first one being... blue fire? Since when did blue fire have anythng to do with this.

At the thought, my head reacted violently, like something was trying to cram itself in my head. I doubled over, panting, and held my head between my knees, trying not to scream, my thoughts in a jumble. A hand touched the back of my head and the pain instantly disappeared, my thoughts were organized as well. When I opened my eyes, there was a flash of blue for a moment but left when I quickly jumped up and looked around.

There was no one else in the room. But I swear someone touched my head! I felt the spot where the hand was, it felt cool, like an ice pack was there.

The door slammed open and the doctor came in with the nurse. He looked like he was worried, but curious and excited at the same time.

"Let me see your leg." He went straight to the point as he approached me. I immediatly sat back on the bed and lifted my leg, he took it into his hands and examined it thoroughly. Poking at it, rubbing it and studying the barely noticable scar before gently putting it down and writing on his own clipboard.

"Does your head still hurt?" He asked, still writing.

I felt my head again and said. "No, not anymore"

He looked up at me and nodded as he got up and started pacing the room. eventually he stopped and faced me.

"I'd like to ask you more about this but seeing as you have fully recovered, you may be going home today."

I gave a small smile and nodded. Even if he did ask me questions, I didn't really know what happened myself so I didn't think I would be able to tell him anything useful anyways. I could tell him about the thought of blue fire... no, that would probably make things worse for me.

A few hours later I was back in my own room, getting ready to go to sleep. My fostor mom wanted me to sleep right away so I would be able to go to school tomorrow. At least that repetitive dream won't be coming back... I hope. I lay down and closed my eyes, letting the tiredness wash over me, despite the fact that I slept for most of the day.

Soon after I heard footsteps in my room, waking me up slightly. My eyes opened groggily and there was a person in my room, dressed in a long white coat. I was about to get up and say something when that person put their hand out in front of my face. Before I could protest, I felt my head feel heavy and my eyes closed as sleep took me again.

* * *

Throughout the next few months I didn't have any dreams of that person, or any dreams at all. What was strange was whenever I woke up, there was always something new in my head. I now understood the basics of several different hand-to-hand combat styles, a few styles of swordfighting, archery, knife-throwing and... the basics of magic? Blue fire wasn't the only thing I was thinking about when it comes to magic. There were other colours of flames with different purposes and how to use them. These ideas probably came from a manga, but if they were, I don't know which manga it's from.

One day, I was walking home from a friends house and I decided to take the long way home. It was already dark out since it was close to the end of winter, but it was still my fault that I lost track of time. After walking through the park, I turned down a narrow lane wide enough only for one large truck. A little way down the lane I heard a whistle ahead of me to my left.

"Hey baby, need help getting home?" Three guys walked out from between two buildings. Each of them were fairly large and had stupid drunken grins on their faces. I narrowed my eyes at them and continued walking, slightly faster now.

"C'mon girl, don't be like that. We just want to help." I attempted to skirt around them when he grabbed my arm.

"Now, now girly. I only—" His head snapped back as my knee collided with his face. When his grip slackened, I pulled away and turned to face them, getting into a defensive stance. The first guy was holding his nose before he glared at me.

"You bitch!" He yelled before he rushed at me. I quickly ducked under his swinging arm and swept his legs out from under him. Finishing off by grabbing his jacket and slamming him into the ground. When he was still moving, I proceeded to knock him out by kicking him in the back of the neck. I backed up from him and looked up at the two other guys. They immediately rushed at me with rage plain on their faces. I ducked under both of their arms and pulled a round-house kick at one of them, knocking them both to the side in a jumble. I kept facing them in my defensive stance, not letting my focus waver. My mind was a void where thoughts weren't allowed. I waited as the two guys got up, waiting for them to make a move. They hesitated before they picked up their unconscious friend and ran away.

I waited until they were out of sight before I relaxed, the void in my mind dimishing. Thoughts rushed into my head and I realized... Where the hell did I learn to fight like that?. I stared at my hands as I thought it over. I had never taken any martial arts classes and I had certainly never tried learning any fighting styles from the manga, I was content with just reading the action, not actually fighting with it. Even when I kept waking up with new fighting styles in my head, I haven't tried any of them before now. But I was surprised at how well I could perform the styles, fluid and connected like a dancer.

Rain started hitting my head as I stood there. I looked up at the sky before running home.

* * *

A few months passed again before anything strange happened. At some point in that time, I woke up and my nose was burning, like I had smelled hand sanitizer, only much more intense. When I walked into the kitchen that morning, I immediately wanted to throw up. For some reason, I could smell _everything. _From the oatmeal on the stove, to the dishsoap sitting by the sink, to the trash can that barely had anything in it. The smells just bombarded my nose, to the point were I could no longer take it and I went outside for the fresh air. But even out there I could smell the dew on the spring grass, the leaves and bark on the trees along with the dirt and mud. I had no idea how that happened, but my sense of smell had increased immensely.

Soon after, my other senses were heightened as well. The weirdest one was my sense of touch. Not only could I really _feel _the things I touched, I could feel the difference between dog fur and cat fur, even the difference between two cat's fur. I could also feel when there are people around me, I consider that a sixth sense though. I can sense other peoples presence to a fairly wide range, around four or five meters around. With my senses heightened like they are now, I've been noticing a lot of things I never saw before.

I decided to test out my "magic" if that was even a thing. After school, I went up onto the roof of the apartments across from where I live. I knew one of the neighbors there and they let me up when I told them I wanted privacy. So there I was, sitting on the edge on top of the four-story building, having crazy thoughts about magic. Yup, even I thought it was a silly thing to think about.

_I can't believe I'm doing this. _I thought to myself. Well, whatever. If nothing happens then I am going crazy, but if something does happen... what would that mean for me?

I shook those thoughts out of my head before they could get out of hand. Okay, time to do this. Closing my eyes, I decided to try igniting blue fire first which, according to the knowledge I had, heals wounds. Sitting still, I cleared my head, allowing the void to push all thoughts out. I reached my sixth sense into myself and felt the flow of energy in my body. The energy was pulsing in time with my heart. Bringing the energy to my right hand, I focused on what I wanted to accomplish. The blue flame. I held my right hand out in front of me and kept focusing. When I felt a pleasant warmth in the palm of my hand, I allowed my eyes to slowly open.

I let out a soft gasp as I was looking at the flickering blue flame, surely it was there, nestled in the palm of my hand. I focused on putting more energy into the flame when it started getting smaller. The more energy I gave it, the larger it got. Soon after I was staring at my hand, which was completely engulfed in the blue fire and I smiled.

It wasn't until my vision got blurry that I realized I was reaching my limit. The flame burned out and my arm fell to my side and I could feel myself leaning forward. My thoughts were sluggish and I didn't have the reflexes to pull myself back.

As I was slipping off, I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist. My eyes snapped open to see the ground four stories below and the arm with a white sleeve around my midsection Before getting blurry again. I could sense the person behind me as they pulled me back over the edge and onto the roof, letting go of me none-too-gently as I dropped. I looked up to see a white coat fluttering by my head as, whoever it was, walked away. My vision was too blurry to make them out but when I blinked and shook my head, I heard the footsteps walk away and stop. When I opened my eyes, I was alone on the roof again.

Things have become painfully clear to me. One, I could use magic. Two, that person was from my dreams and the fact that they saved my life made them real. Three, if I remember correctly what happened in that dream seven months ago, the girl they were talking about would most likely be me.

But why? Why would it be me that they needed. What was so important that they would look for my help? I was just a teenage orphan with nothing special to offer.

No, that's wrong. Someone was sent to train me, is that the reason I have new knowledge every morning? Is everything I am learning being taught to me in my sleep? I gasped as the realization hit me. That person invaded my bedroom every night to train me, without my permission! When I find out who that person is, guy or girl, they will have hell to pay.

* * *

It's been ten months since that dream in the hospital. A full year since my parents died and that repetitive dream started bombarding me. Not only that, it was the day I turned seventeen. Ever since I discovered I could use magic, I've been training myself everyday. Not just in magic but in fighting as well. I can now focus my magic for longer periods of time and my stamina and strength has increased immensely. I have also read more manga in this year than any otaku could in three. I have no idea how I managed to read so much with school, training and sleeping. It just happened.

Now I am standing on the roof of the apartment, facing the person who has been training me for the past ten months. He was a tall young man with chin-length, wavy blonde hair that had prominent pink streaks and bright green eyes. He seemed to be around nineteen or twenty with an impressive claymore sword strapped to his back. He stared at me with a piercing gaze, his face emotionless.

"You were the one training me?" He gave a curt nod of his head.

"You are essential to the war." He said to me. His voice betraying no emotion as well.

"How?"

"You are the only one we can find who is capable of driving back the darkness."

"What does the darkness want?"

"It is making its way to this universe, but it's reasons for doing so is still unknown to us. What we do know is that the people of this universe are in danger."

"Where will I be going?" I asked.

"To other universes." Not a very specific answer if you ask me. "Worlds created by the imaginations and beliefs of the people from this universe."

My eyebrows rose. "And these worlds would be?"

"You will know more in due time. For now you have limited time to make a choice."

He rummaged around in his coat before bringing forth a long knife. He examined it for a moment before holding it down by his side, looking back at me.

"Will you take this quest to protect all the worlds?"

The man in white stood in front of me as he asked the question. The portal behind him glowed with an unearthly light. A path to another universe.

"You have been trained for this, but now it is for you to decide if you will leave this world behind. Know that if you choose to leave, you may never have the chance to return."

I hesitated as I thought of my reasons for following him. I might not come back to the world I was born to, but if I accepted, I would have the chance to protect the world and the people that I loved.

I raised my eyes to his and opened my mouth to answer.

"I accept!"

He nodded his head again before he walked towards me. When he was a few feet away, he held the knife by its hilt, blade down, in front of me.

"Then you need to trust me. To travel to another universe you need to be in a power-locked state, or else the pathway will collapse if there is too much conflicting energy." I nodded in understanding.

"To be in another universe your fate must be temporarily linked to one of that universe. This blade has two tasks, to lock away your power and to decide who your fate will be linked with. Now plunge this blade into your heart."

My eyes opened wide and I held my hands up in front of me.

"Woah woah, say what now? You want me to stab myself? And do I even get a choice as to who I'll be tied to when I get there?"

"Yes and no. This blade will not harm you in any way, it is a sealing tool. The gem on the hilt decides who you will be with as they may be targeted." I raised an eyebrow.

"You sure? Cause I don't want to end up dea—ow" He just bonked my head!

"I'm am losing my patience and you are running out of time. Take the blade and run it through your heart, it may be too late at the pace your going." Did he just insult me? I couldn't tell because of his flowery way of talking.

"Fine, I'll do it." I reached out and grabbed the hilt of the knife from his hand. I tried to touch the blade but gasped when my fingers went through while the blade became white flames.

Gathering my courage, I took a deep breath and turned the blade to point at my heart. I glanced up at the man and was startled to see a smirk on his face, as if he wanted to see if I would really do it. Taking another deep breath, I pulled the knife into myself. I felt no pain but I immediately fell unconscious.

And I woke up to the blue sky and the smell of the sea.

* * *

**Oh geez that's a long chapter. I know I could have split this up with a third chapter, but I really wanted to finish this off and get to the main story.**

**There will be some art for this fan fiction from myself. I will be putting it on my deviantart profile when I am done. Please look forwards to the next chapter and reviews will always be helpful.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	3. Conflicted Meetings

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **Yeah, I have to admit that the ending was similar, but that was not my intention. It was still a good reference and I did say that there would be references to other manga.I didn't notice till you told me. Thanks!

**OtakuAtHeart: **Thanks a lot and I will try to be consistent with my uploads. And it's spelled: Arigatou Gozaimasu (at least in romaji). I'm taking Japanese classes.

**Now we are getting to the good stuff! Read on people!**

* * *

**Universe One**

**Conflicted Meetings**

**Law's POV**

"AAAAANND ITEM NUMBER 462 IS SOLD TO THE BEAUTIFUL LADY WITH THE RED FAN!"

I sat back in the crowd as another human was sold into slavery. I wasn't here to buy, I just wanted to see whatever pirate ended up in slavery. A few sturdy pirates had already been sold and I had the feeling I could've used them. But then again, I wasn't looking to buy.

Glancing over by the curtain near the edge of the stage, I caught sight of my rival. Eustass Kidd. I still remember when we fought the marines in front of the human auction house with that idiot Strawhat. That temporary "truce" we had during the fight a month ago was now gone and I wasn't afraid to face him if he ever picked a fight with my crew.

I spotted a blond and pink-haired guy wearing a long white coat come out of a doorway on the side wall in front of the stage. I'm sure there wasn't a door there before. The other people he passed by didn't seem to notice him. But the redhead did. Both of us had our eyes on him as he walked towards the exit. No one noticed but us two.

The blonde-haired guy was carrying a big black bundle of cloth under one arm, but what drew my attention to it was the knife hilt sticking out of it. The knife looked valuable from the white and gold colour, not to mention the jewels, especially the large one at the tip of the hilt. He didn't look at anyone until he passed the redhead, who glared at him. Once he passed by Kidd, he kept his eyes at the exit until he turned to look at me.

I suppressed a shiver from rising as his eyes seemed to stare right in me. Watching him walk by and exit the building, I started to wonder if I wanted to steal the knife from him.

"Captain, what are you looking at?" I turned to the polar bear named Bepo. It took a second for the question to sink in. He couldn't see him, I realized.

"Nothing, we're leaving." I got up to follow that blonde through the exit. I glanced back at the curtains and took note that the redhead wasn't there.

Stepping outside, I saw the blonde carrying the black bundle into the trees away from the paths. I immediately turned my path in that direction, I really wanted that knife now, but I had no idea why. Sure it could catch a good price, but I knew I didn't really need it. When I came across a clearing, I was surprised to find the bundle with the knife left alone there. Looking around for the blonde, he was no where to be found. My attention went back to the knife. It might have been my imagination, but it appeared to be pulsing, like a heart. I grinned at the thought.

Making sure the weren't any marines, traps or ambushes around, I strolled to the bundle. Ignoring Bepo's warnings I examined the knife closely. It was very well-crafted with intricate gold designs, pearls and smalls red stones and jewels. The knife appeared to be more for decoration rather than for fighting.

My head snapped up when I heard footsteps from the direction of the auction house. I groaned inwardly when I saw it was the redhead, the masked blonde named Killer close by. It seemed as though he had the same idea as I did. When the redhead saw me, he stopped and glared at me, saying through his eyes to back off. No way would I do that. I gave a small smile before gripping the hilt. Pulling at it, I was quick to realize that it wouldn't budge, plus I couldn't let go.

"What's the matter? You choking on your tongue or something?" Shit.

"No, although that's not a bad idea. I think I'll do that to you after I take this knife." I smirked at him as I tried to discreetly remove the knife from the bundle, or my hand from the knife.

"Like hell you will, I'll be taking that!" He activated his devilfruit ability and attempted to draw the knife towards him. I was struggling to hold onto my nodachi as it was being magnetically pulled towards the redhead, but the knife wasn't budging for him, just like it didn't for me. A scowl appeared on the redheads face when he realized the knife wasn't moving. He deactivated his ability and walked towards the bundle, and myself stuck to it. I kept my face cool as he approached me. He walked right up to my face and glanced at my hand on the knife before looking back at me.

"Hands off my treasure. I told you I'll be taking it." His fist came around at my face. If I wasn't stuck to that damn thing, I would've been flying away from the knife. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I hit the ground but my hand was still attached to the knife. The redhead looked at my hand again before smirking.

"Not gonna let go huh? Or maybe you can't pull it out? You're weak, you know that right?" I got up as he reached over and had a grip around the hilt as well, purposely attempting to crush my hand. But when he pulled at it, a frown came over his face when he realized he was stuck with me.

"Let go you shitty doctor." He growled at me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Now if I _could_ let go, I would have before you tried to crush my hand. Looks like you're stuck too though." He responded by crushing my hand a little more. I was about to insult him when a white flash came from the knife, or rather, where the knife connected to the bundle. After the flash, the knife rose up and stopped when the blade was out. As soon as the tip passed the last layer of cloth, the entire bundle came apart to reveal, much to the shock of the redhead and myself, a girl wearing a black cloak.

* * *

**Aeona's POV**

I opened my eyes to a blue sky rimmed with trees and the smell of the sea.

And then I noticed the knife that was in my chest being held above me by two pirates. By reflex I quickly sat up and shoved away from the two, doing a backwards somersault before landing in a defensive stance. My eyes quickly surveyed everything.

It looked like the first universe I was in was the world of One Piece. Judging by the enormous trees and soap bubbles, I was on Sabaody Archipelago, although I wasn't sure of which point in the story I entered. It may be around when the Strawhat pirates got separated, because that was the only point in time I remembered both Law and Kid in the same place. The two pirates themselves were right in front of me, both of them having one hand around the hilt of the knife. Eustass Kidd was glaring at me with a hint of confusion, while Trafalgar Law had a cool look of interest playing in his eyes. A polar bear that I knew was named Bepo was next to a tree close by and Killer was on the other side of the clearing, leaning against a tree. It was then that I noticed the black cloak I was wearing, the hood was up, hiding my face from view. When I tried to pull off the hood, it stayed there.

"Oi, who the fuck are you?" Kidd continued to glare at me as he asked the question. I scowled back at him for his rudeness but quickly shrugged it off, that's just how he is.

"My name is –" Something in my head was telling me to not reveal my real name.

"Aeona. My name is Aeona." I decided to use my account name that I used for a lot of things. I straightened up and took a few steps closer to the two of them. I took note of them trying to pull away from each other. Either they wanted the knife and wouldn't let go, or they were stuck.

"What are you guys doing?" They both stopped bickering long enough to look at me.

"This shitty doctor won't let go of my treasure."

Law sighed. "I had my hands on it first so it is mine."

"Objection!" I raised a hand high into the air. "That knife actually belongs to me and I would appreciate it if you gave it back."

Now they were both glaring at me.

"If you could get the redhead to let go of the knife and my hand, I would consider letting you live." Law said to me in a serious tone.

"I'm not letting you kill me, but I will be taking the knife back." I closed the distance and put one hand on top the large red jewel on the tip of the hilt, the other hand was trying to pry off Kidd's hand. It was difficult because they really were stuck.

The red jewel glowed under my hand and the entire knife became white flames. Law and Kidd immediately pulled away from the fire when they were unstuck, alarm in both of their eyes. I gave a small smile as I continued to hold the shifting flame.

_Strings of fate have been tied. Do not let the story waver from it's path._

Words filled my head as the flames disappeared from my hand in a breeze, making my hood blow off and the cloak disappear as well. Don't let the story waver? So I have to make sure the proper things happen in this manga world?

_"Look at how many stories have been turned off of their path. We are wasting time." _I remembered hearing that in my dream ten months ago. Didn't he also point at those dark orbs? Is that what happens when things go wrong with the story? I was too lost in thought to notice when Kidd grabbed me around my neck and slammed my back into a tree.

"What the fuck did you do to the knife?" Kidd yelled at me. He held me there with his arm straight, my feet dangling above the ground. His hold on me was too tight to breath so I put one hand on his forearm, my other on his upper arm, and swung my knee up into his elbow joint as hard as I could. When his grip slackened I kicked his chest, pushing him away from me. I dropped to my knees and quickly leaped to the side before he could kick me, screaming with rage. I kept my distance from him as I was catching my breath.

"I don't know what happened to it, it just turned into white fire and disappeared. And I know that's not something I can do." I kept on moving backwards away from him.

"Room." I heard Law say softly right behind me. I glanced back and saw the blue orb appear in his hand.

"Shit." I put in a burst of speed as I ran to the side away from both of them. I almost got away but my foot was caught and I was immediately dragged into the room that Law made. Floating upside down I scowled at him. Kidd was standing outside of Law's range and just watched us, seething with anger.

"Oi, butt out you shitty doctor. I'm gonna make her give me that knife and I'm gonna slash you to pieces with it." Law ignored him and just looked at me with calculating eyes. I stared right back, crossing my arms as I did so.

"You're smart, you saw me make my room and you tried to get away. How did you know what my ability can do?" I concentrated on thinking of a way to escape.

"I just read it somewhere, it's no big deal." I answered nonchalantly as I cleared my mind and gathered energy at my heels. I positioned my legs so they pointed to the side. This wasn't my idea to do this, I read it in a fanfiction a few months ago. It was effective so I decided to try it. I focused on propulsion, pushing the energy out of my heels so regular orange fire burst out. This caused me the fly out of his room and I positioned myself to land on my feet, hitting some branches on the way. When I landed, I looked up and was surprised to find myself a lot further away than I intended to be. Both Law and Kidd were surprised at what I did as well.

Standing up, I winced as I felt a deep scratch on my left arm. It was bleeding a little and there were twigs and soap in the wound. Law came towards me and I kept a wary eye on him until he brought out a small first aid kit. He opened it and reached for my arm, but I took a step back and he stopped.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes.

"I'm going to clean that wound, it could get infected." I raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you be concerned about me?"

"Because you are going to be part of my crew." My eyes grew wide at his answer.

"What makes you think I would join your crew?" I yelled at him.

"I wasn't asking." He quickly snatched my arm and started to clean it. "You're part of my crew."

He finished cleaning my arm and reached into his kit to grab the bandages. I pulled away from him before he could start wrapping my arm.

"You don't need to bandage it." I told him. His eyes rose to meet mine and spoke in a serious tone.

"It's going to get infected if that scratch stays open." I shook my head.

"I said you don't need to bandage it." I repeated smiling. Focusing my energy, I brought the blue fire into my right hand, which I put over the scratch on my left arm. The pleasant warmth seeped through my skin as I felt the wound stitch together. After a moment, I took my hand away and extinguished the flame, the scratch no longer there. Law's eyes widened and I sensed Kidd come up behind me. Whirling around to face him he grabbed my arm, the one that was scratched, and took a look at it as I tried to pull away from him.

"Let go of me!" I yelled in protest. Without another word he turned away from Law and started walking away, with me in tow.

"What are you doing? Let go!" I continued screaming until he answered.

"We're going to my ship, and you're gonna join my crew." I gasped as he pulled me forwards, making me stumble. Someone grabbed my other arm and I turned to see Law smirking at me before glaring at Kidd.

"She's gonna join my crew, or did you not hear me say so earlier?" Kidd turned to glare at Law and tried to pull me away from him, but Law had a strong grip on me and he pulled on me as well, resulting in a tug-of-war between the two. With me in the middle. I was starting to feel my shoulders ache with the effort of holding me together, I was also floating above the ground with the tension between them.

"Let go of me you idiots!" I yelled at the both of them and brought orange fire around my arms, forcing them to let go. When I dropped to my feet, I kept the fire around my arms to prevent them from grabbing me again. The fire wasn't burning me, but it can burn everything else like regular fire.

"You're joining my crew!" Law and Kidd yelled at me at the same time before glaring at each other. I facepalmed.

Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?

* * *

**So now she is in the world of One Piece guys.**

**I'm excited about where this story is going. It's doing great considering it just started.**

**Art for this fanfiction will be up on my deviantart within this month, I can't put an exact date because of the other stuff I have to do. But I will also be trying to upload a chapter everyday or every second or third day. I'm gonna try to be consistent.**

**Please give me a review, it always helps.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona.**


	4. Innocent Games

**New chapter yay!**

**WARNING! SPOILERS UP AHEAD FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT READ ALL THE AVAILABLE ONE PIECE MANGA. DO NOT BLAME ME IF YOU WANTED TO READ IT YOURSELVES. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

**It's only a little bit but still, I wanted to let you guys know at least.**

* * *

**Universe One**

**Innocent Games**

"You're joining my crew!" Law and Kidd yelled at me at the same time before glaring at each other. I facepalmed.

Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?

I ignored the two of them as I went into thought mode. That guy with the white coat said that the knife would decide who my fate would be temporarily tied to, but both Law and Kidd were holding the knife when I woke up. Does that mean I'm tied to both of them? I looked back up at the two pirates, they were yelling at each other but I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. There is no way I can be with both of them at the same time. Besides, they both have different paths to follow. Law will become a Shichibukai and Kidd will get involved in the underground with S.M.I.L.E., losing an arm and getting a metal one on the way. I will probably have to alternate between them and make sure they stay on track.

_"The gem on the hilt decides who you will be with as they may be targeted."_

His words came to the front of my head. The people I'm with might be targeted? By what? I shook my head vigorously. I'm always asking myself too many questions! It's not getting me anywhere.

"Fuck off you shitty doctor! She's coming with me!" Kidd yelled and scooped me up, carrying me over his shoulder. He started walking away from Law as I tried to process what just happened. Curse my absentmindedness. I struggled against him until an idea came into my head.

"Hey, put me down! You two are gonna have a contest over who I'm going with!" Kidd snorted and kept walking.

"Listen to me!" I yelled at him, smacking the back of his head.

"That redhead is too much of an idiot to win in a contest with me." I heard Law say. Kidd immediately stiffened and turned around, marching right back into Law's face.

"Say that again you shitty doctor." He growled threateningly.

"That redhead is too much of an idiot to win in a contest with me." Law said again with a smirk. Kidd fumed and threw a punch at him, but Law ducked before it could connect. It's really easy to piss Kidd off.

"Stop it already!" I tried to squirm out of Kidd's hold but used orange fire on him when it didn't work.

"I'll decide who I will be going with otherwise it won't be either of you. Now shut up and listen to the rules of the contest." Both of them stopped and were looking at me. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before speaking again.

"Here's how the contest is gonna go. We are going to play a game of hide and seek. Whoever can find me first can take me onto their crew. Both of you will wait here for one minute while I hide. The only boundary is around the archipelago, but I won't be on any of the ships docked here. Your crew can help you look but it has to be you that takes me to your ship, or submarine." I looked at Law and he nodded in acknowledgement.

"I will not be hiding in one place, I will be moving around when I want to. There is no time limit and to catch me, you just need to touch me. Are we clear?" I studied the looks on their faces. Law had a cool face, but there was the hint of interest in his eyes again. Kidd looked confused for a moment, but he grinned when he understood the rules. Both of them nodded.

"Okay then, you will wait here for one minute. In that time you can gather your crew and tell them the rules. I will go and hide." I turned around and started running away from the two of them, hearing the both of them calling for their crew. I gave a small smile as I ran out of earshot. There was no way I was going to make this easy.

I ran to the amusement park, there was at least thirty seconds left so I looked around for a bit. Almost all of the rides had something to do with bubbles and I was curious as to how the tree sap could hold together in that form so well. I strolled down the street and spotted a nearby costume store. Walking towards it I picked out a blue, full body dress complete with a hat and mask. I grabbed them and walked towards the change rooms in the back. My one minute was up.

Changing into the costume, I put my hair in a bun before getting the hat and mask on. Looking myself over in the mirror, I was satisfied at how well it hid my identity. The dress was a light sky blue with white beading in swirls for decoration, white lace trimming the costume everywhere. The skirt of the dress flowed nicely and covered my jeans and sneakers completely. My black tank top was tucked in my belt under the dress since the cleavage would reveal it if I kept it on. There were no sleeves but there was a pair of gloves that I slipped onto my arms, it was also light blue in colour.

The hat was small but had a large feather stuck in it, which I wore tilted slightly to the side. It was sky blue with thin white ropes lining the edges. The sky blue mask only covered the top half of my face. It was shaped like a butterfly and was lined in white lace. When I was finished adjusting my hair, I walked out gracefully into the costume shop.

When I entered out in the open, all eyes were on me. Including the eyes of two perverts who happened to be walking by the shop at that moment. I ignored them as I walked to the accessories shelf and picked up a fan that was matching my dress. Opening it up, I covered the lower half of my face as I fanned myself. The two perverts walked up to me casually and tried for a conversation.

"Hey there pretty little lady, that's quite a thing to be wearing on a hot day like this." The one with the green and red hat and sunglasses was the first one to speak. There wasn't a lot I knew about Shachi, but I know for a fact that he is a part of the Heart Pirates and a pervert. Just like Penguin.

"If you want, we could get you something more comfortable to wear." Penguin grinned as his eyes lit up in excitement. I put on a sweet tone as I spoke.

"No thank you. I like this costume very much but it seemed I have misplaced my purse. And I was really looking forward to wearing it at the masquerade ball tonight." I sighed and gave a pout of my lips as I noticed their eyes turn into hearts. I guess stuff like that can happen in the manga world.

"Don't worry about it, Penguin'll pay for it." Shachi said, patting Penguin on the back.

"Hey! Why do I have to be the one paying for it? Your the one who suggested it!" Penguin protested.

"Who was the one who payed for your cotton-candy earlier?"

"You did." Penguin muttered reluctantly. "But that's not the point..."

I slowly walked away from them as they argued. Neither of them noticed, of which I was relieved. I walked over to the shop clerk and asked for the price of the ensemble I was currently wearing. After a few moments of calculating, he told me it all costed 164,820 Beri. Doing the math in my head, that was around $1600 in Canadian currency. Though judging by the quality of the costume pieces, it was a fair price.

Letting the clerk know that those two idiots were willing to pay for my costume, he nodded and told me that gentlemen were hard to find among all the pirates these days. We laughed together and I waved goodbye to the clerk as I left the shop. I could still hear those two arguing. I wonder how long they will be at it before the clerk forces them to pay.

I smiled at myself for how I got away as I mingled with the crowd. I was already starting to be a pirate.

* * *

**Kidd's POV**

"Dammit!" I've been searching for an hour already and I still haven't found that girl. What was her name? Ah forget it, I'll just find her and get her on my crew. I wanted to know what else she could do.

I looked over at my first mate. Killer was alert and looking for the girl that was in the clearing with us, ready to give chase if he saw her. But even with him on the lookout, I was getting more annoyed at this game. Why couldn't I just beat that shitty doctor up to make her come with me? It'd be a lot easier that way rather than having to search the entire island for that girl.

"Where the fuck is she?" I yelled out loud. Everyone nearby glanced at us before quickly looking away in fear. Scowling at all of them, I turned in the direction of the amusement park and kept walking.

People were clearing out of my way as I walked, obviously they didn't want me to take my anger out on them. Although I really wanted to pound some of their faces in, I wanted to find that girl first. My eyes scanned the crowd, looking for her.

There was a lot of people at the amusement park, some of them were even wearing costumes. I looked around until my eyes fell on a girl wearing a blue dress. She was wearing an all blue and white costume with a hat, mask and fan, but it was impossible to tell who it was. Getting my first mates attention, I pointed at her.

"Find out who she is." I told him. He gave a quick nod before running through the crowd in her direction. As soon as Killer started running towards her, she walked in the opposite direction and around the corner of a food booth. Killer disappeared from sight as he ran after her. I walked out of the crowd and leaned against a tree trunk, smirking. No one could outrun my first mate, he's the best in my crew. Any minute now he's gonna drag that girl to me and I'm gonna find out who she is.

Killer came back, but I was confused when the girl he was after wasn't with him. He walked right up to me and held up the blue dress.

"She knew I was after her." He said simply. I frowned as I tried to figure it out. That girl just took off the costume as soon as she was out of sight of the both of us. The costume completely hid her identity to the point that even Killer couldn't tell who she was. And when he started moving towards her, she walked away. Any other girl wouldn't know that Killer was headed her way unless...

"FUCK!"

* * *

**Aeona's POV**

I hid against the tree branch a hundred feet in the air, hearing Killer looking for me.

That was too close for comfort.

Wearing my costume for the past hour, I could walk around the amusement park without any problems. But when I spotted Kidd's flaming hair, I tried to act natural and not notice them. As soon as I saw Killer making his way towards me through the crowd, I panicked when I realized they were onto me. So I casually made my way behind the booth before tearing off the costume frantically. I was barely able to get on top of the branch before Killer rounded the corner. I didn't even have time to pull on my tank top, but I couldn't risk moving or breathing too loudly with Killer directly below me.

I waited until I saw the first mate back with his captain, my costume in hand, before I started moving again. I pulled on the tank top and let my hair loose again, my heart pounding.

Time to move to a different area.

* * *

**Law's POV**

I stared down at two of my crew members with cold eyes and a stone face.

"We're sorry! We didn't know she would trick us like that!" Penguin and Shachi cried together after they told me what happened at the costume shop. I stayed silent as I thought about the story they just told. That girl, Aeona, was smart. I've got to hand it to her, the costume she was wearing made her look like she fit in at the amusement park. I even passed her a couple of times and I didn't notice it was her. It was also amusing how she forced those two idiots to pay for the costume for her.

I ignored the two quivering idiots as I looked over at Kidd. I could see him clearly from the higher area of the tree roots where I was standing. His first mate just went back to him with the costume in his hand.

Shit, now I don't know what she is wearing. I saw movement in the tree nearby where Aeona disappeared. A smirk crept onto my face when I realized it was her, pulling on her tank top. It quickly became a scowl when she saw me, making brief eye contact before jumping onto another tree and disappearing into another area of the archipelago.

It was too late to give chase since I was all the way on the other side of the park from her, but I started moving in that direction nonetheless. As expected, by the time I made it to the tree she hid on, she was nowhere to be found.

"You two." I called Penguin and Shachi over.

"Yes captain?" They asked nervously.

"Stay put and call me when you see her." They both stood stock-straight when they replied.

"YES CAPTAIN!" They yelled. I walked away from them and headed to the auction house.

* * *

**Aeona's POV**

I kept jumping from tree to tree until my foot slipped when I landed on one. I didn't notice that the branch was covered in the tree sap until I stepped on it. I tried to grab on with my hands but they slipped off too.

"Shit!" I cursed as I fell over three hundred feet towards the seawater below the roots. I flipped myself into a pencil dive and took a deep breath before landing in the water with a splash.

* * *

**I drew some art by hand but I want to redraw on the ibis paint app before I post them. I'm still learning how to use it but I hope the art turns out alright.**

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE, PLEASE READ!**

**There is a poll on my profile for who will find Aeona in hide and seek. Give it a vote and I will post the answer on the next chapter.**

**Please give me a review if there is something you want to see in this part of the story, I'm open to ideas.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	5. And Then There Was One

**Thank you for voting on the poll, I'm sorry I had to delay this update but I did want some people to vote on the poll before I published this chapter.  
**(I only got three votes)

******Right now I am working on my own fanart for this, I will probably be done one of them within the next week.**

**Anyways, enjoy the new chapter I wrote for you guys!**

* * *

**Universe One**

**And Then There Was One**

_Splash!_

Pencil diving into the water, I was completely submerged. As soon as the downwards momentum stopped, I swam up to the surface and took huge gulps of air when my head breached the water. I treaded the water for a few moments as I looked around for somewhere to get back above the tree roots. Spotting a beach around the next root, I started swimming towards it. As soon as I was on dry land, I built a fire out of the few dry sticks I found and started drying my tank top and hair.

I shivered as I squeezed the seawater out of my hair. I didn't like sitting there exposed in my bra, I was fine without a shirt as long as there was no one around, (of which I am thankful for right now) but there was no way I was gonna take off my pants. My tank top was hanging on a stick near the fire and my shoes were beside them. Shoes feel gross when they're wet. I tied my hair up in a ponytail after giving up on trying to comb through it with my hands.

After a while, my shivering stopped and I was able to enjoy the warmth of the fire and relax a bit. I stayed like that for a while before I heard footsteps crashing nearby, a familiar voice cursing. In a rush, I grabbed my tank top and shoes before bolting in the other direction, not having the time to pull them on. I looked back to see Kidd coming into view, his face lighting up with a triumphant smile when he saw me. I turned away as I ran, only to bump into Killer's lean chest. A small squeak escaped my lips as he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against a tree, holding me there while he avoided my kicks. As I struggled under his grip, I could hear Kidd coming closer.

"You were a bitch to find you know that right." He strolled closer to me and shoved his face in mine, smirking. Why did he have Killer keep holding me here? Why doesn't he just end the game already?

"I could finish up the game right here, but I feel like you need to pay for being so hard to find." Well that answered my question. He took a few steps back and looked me over. I didn't like what I saw in his eyes.

"Stop staring at me!" I snapped at him. His eyes went back up to mine and smirked.

"I have a few reason why I want you on my crew but first," His gaze became curious. "Do you know what a devilfruit is?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course I do."

"Then you know that all devilfruit users can't swim right." I nodded and he smiled.

"Great, now what I want to know is what your devilfruit ability is." My eyes opened wide and I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" He scowled at me. I forced myself to calm down before looking up at him but went right back to laughing at the sight of his expression.

"W-what's funny is that y-you think I'm a devilfruit user." I managed to gasp out between laughs. He got angrier and yelled at me.

"It won't be funny when you're sinking to the bottom of the ocean!"

"Oh no! Don't throw me in the water, please!" I screamed out in mock horror. His face turned red in anger and he nodded at Killer, who immediately threw me out into the water. I took a deep breath before I splashed in.

I decided to let him think he won for a bit, it will just make seeing his surprised face all the more sweeter. After about five seconds, which was long enough, I poked my head above the water and took a deep breath. I looked up to see mixed emotions in Kidd's face. It was somewhere in between confusion, anger and curiosity.

"Hey there!" I waved up to him and started to swim around. "You're an ass you know that right? And I was just starting to get dry before you threw me in." I swam towards shore and climbed out. Kidd's face was full of curiosity now.

"Just what the hell are you?" He asked me. I walked right in front of him.

"I'm just another human." I told him simply. Turning away, I grabbed my fallen tank top and slipped it on. I could feel both Kidd's and Killer's eyes on me as I put on my shoes. Wringing out my hair again, I remembered the game. I stood up and faced the two of them.

"Now you know I'm not a devilfruit user. I still haven't eaten anything since I got here anyways, never mind a devilfruit." My stomach growled to prove a point.

"I'm gonna go get some food, could you two wait here for me until I get back?" I started backing away from them slowly, praying that they wouldn't catch onto what I was trying to do. I turned around and continued walking away.

"Go with her." Well, that doesn't help at all. I felt Killer's presence behind me right away. I heaved a sigh, it won't be easy getting away from him this time. Walking away from Kidd, I didn't say a word as I stole glances at the masked man. After the fourth time, I looked at him and jumped when I saw his head turned towards me, the eyes I couldn't see somehow pierced right through me, studying me. Whipping my head forward again, I tried, and failed, to suppress a shiver.

It wasn't long before the smell of food came to my nose, but there still wasn't any sign of the booths serving it. I looked over at the number on the nearby tree, 48. If memory served me right, this was the tourist area of Sabaody Archepilago. I smiled to myself, there are marines in this area to keep tourists safe. If I can get them to delay Killer, I might be able to get away.

"Don't try anything funny." Killer said just loud enough so I could hear. My smile only became wider.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

We walked in silence until we came across a food booth selling fruit rolled in some kind of pancake. My stomach growled again and I looked up at Killer, putting on a sad face.

"What?" He asked me. I shrugged and looked down, scuffing my feet against the ground.

"I don't have any money." A bunch of paper was shoved into my face, making me scramble for them when they started to fall. I ended up with a fistful of Beri. I looked back up at him.

"You didn't have to shove it at me you know." I retorted. He continued to stand there casually, scanning the crowds that passed us. I bought a couple of the rolls and pocketed the extra money, at least Killer didn't seem to mind that. As we were walking, I was eating my rolls and I could hear some marines talking in a nearby restaurant. I started making my way there and Killer followed without a word. When I stepped through the doors, I found out that it was a dinner theatre. Some people were eating meals while most others were there just to watch the performance. I saw the marines eyeing the girls on stage and I smiled. I just needed a distraction.

"I need to use the washroom." I told Killer. He just nodded and I started making my way to the other side of the room, feeling his eyes on my back. As soon I rounded the corner, I crouched and slowly made my way over to the marines, trying not to be noticed by the masked man.

"Excuse me." I put on a scared face as I got one of the marines' attention. He looked down at me and reacted to the scared face I had on, he seemed to take note of the fact that I was hiding and did his part to pretend I wasn't there. At least he wasn't stupid like most of them were.

"Yes, what is it." He asked as he stared down into his cup. I pointed at Killer.

"That man has been stalking me ever since I came here. He won't go away and it's scaring me." The marine looked over at Killer and I saw his eyes go wide. He nudged his friends and pointed in his direction. They all had serious faces as one of them brought a wanted poster of Killer onto the table. The marine I was talking to turned to me.

"Go hide in the back, that man is a dangerous pirate and we don't want you getting hurt." I showed relief on my face and nodded. Turning around, I started crawling back to towards the washrooms, a grin spreading across my face. Now I just had to make my way out. I went through the kitchens and out the back door of the restaurant. Running down the road, I kept my eyes and ears open just in case Killer found me again. I swerved into the lawless area of Sabaody and gradually slowed down, still on alert. I spotted the human auction house and made my way there.

I froze and hid behind a tree when I saw Bepo. Looking around I soon realized that I was in the area I woke up in. Was Bepo keeping guard in case I came back here? I slowly went closer to the clearing and took a better look at my surroundings, deep in thought.

I heard someone clearing their throat behind me and I jumped away from them, already starting to run before I recognized who it was. Law started running towards me with a smirk on his face.

"Room." The blue sphere expanded and I put an extra burst of energy into my speed to try to get away. I wasn't gonna let myself get caught again. His range went as far as it did before and stopped. I remembered that his "room" can't move around, that it was fixed in place. I slowed down thinking he couldn't get me and turned around, still walking backwards.

"Your room is fixed to one place so you can't catch me now." I showed a lot of confidence, to the point where it became cocky. He merely kept on smiling and walked to the edge of his room, so we were just out of each others reach.

"Extend." I gasped in surprise when his room became twice as big and included me in the circle. He made a "come here" motion with his finger and I was dragged forwards until I was standing in front of him.

"Shit." He must have been training since the Strawhat pirates got separated. I sighed at my stupidity, being over-confident doesn't help in any situation.

"You have a strange ability, but it seems to be more than igniting flames that heal." He reached out and grabbed my arm as I tried to get away.

"I win." I scowled at him and stopped fighting, but couldn't keep a smile from creeping onto my face.

"Well then, congratulations. Now will you put me down, I'll be a part of your crew for now." Wordlessly, he let go of my arm and released his room.

"What devilfruit did you eat?" He inquired with interest sparkling in his eyes while mine rolled at the question.

"I didn't." He studied me for a few moments before turning around and walking away. I raised an eyebrow at him before following. As we were walking on a root to get to the next tree, Law activated his room and threw me in the water before I could react. I sputtered when I resurfaced.

"Aw c'mon! This is the third time today, I told you I didn't eat any devilfruits!" I heard him chuckling from the root above me.

"I know."

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**Okay guys, thanks for sticking with me for this story, without you I wouldn't even have bothered to type a second chapter, or third, or fourth, or fifth.**

**Please leave a review on what you think. Where Law and Kidd OOC at all? It'll really help if you review what you want me to do next. I already have the big picture for the story in mind, but I just don't know what to do for the details.**

**I'll have the next chapter for you guys soon.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	6. The Heart Pirates

**I'm sorry I updated so late, I had a very busy weekend and school was not being nice. **

**As promised, here is a new chapter for you guys!**

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**Universe One**

**The Heart Pirates**

"Hi there." I said as I smiled stiffly at the two perverts I was being introduced to. Penguin and Shachi both stared at me blankly, clearly still upset about me tricking them into buying my costume. But really, they said they would buy it first.

"What's she doing here? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but she did make us lose all our allowance." I raised an eyebrow. They get an allowance? And did they not know why their captain made them look for me?

"She's joining the crew." Law said nonchalantly. Both of their jaws dropped as they gaped at their captain.

"Are you serious? She made us lose our allowance and—" Shachi slapped a hand over Penguin's mouth when Law's face darkened.

"Do you have a problem with who is on my crew?" Law murmured intimidatingly. Penguin and Shachi seemed to shrink under his gaze. I felt chills from his aura.

"N-no c-captain, n-none at all! S-sorry for a-asking." The two Heart pirates were visibly trembling, looking up at Law with eyes full of terror as they hugged each other. Even I took a cautious step away from the man. After staring at the two idiots for a few moments, he turned and walked down the hallway to his room.

"Clear up a room and show her where it is. She'll be staying with us now and we're going under in an hour." With that, he opened the door to his room and disappeared into it. The door shutting on it's own. Penguin and Shachi breathed a sigh of relief before they glared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't ask us for money because we're not gonna give you any." Penguin said, crossing his arms.

"Great, I wasn't asking for any. Thanks for buying the costume for me though, it was really nice of you to do that." I snickered inwardly when they blushed, taken aback by my gratitude. Playing around with them is gonna be fun!

"Anyways, we have to get a room ready for you since you'll be living here with us. You go to the bathroom and take a shower, you're gonna catch a cold if you keep walking around in wet clothes. It's down that way, make a turn to the left and it's the first door you see." Shachi turned away and started walking down the same hallway Law went down.

"Hold on a sec!" I called to them. They stopped walking and turned to face me.

"I don't have any other clothing besides this since the dress was taken by Killer. Do you mind if I borrow some clothes until I go shopping for more?" They nodded.

"Yeah, we'll try to find something your size." Penguin assured me before they turned away and continued walking.

"Thanks!" They waved at me without turning around. I smiled and started humming to my self as I made my way to the showers. I soon discovered that the shower was shared amongst the entire crew. I'm gonna have to ask them to install a separate bathroom in my room, I consider privacy to be a big deal. So after I rushed everyone out with my eyes closed, I was finally able to relax and have the shower all to myself. I cursed Law again for throwing me into the water as I peeled off my wet clothes.

As I let the water hit my face, I thought about the events that happened throughout the day. It was strange that two people had drawn the blade but it helped me understand a little of how things worked. I heard a knock on my door and I made sure I had a towel wrapped around myself before opening it.

"Sorry, umm" Penguin blushed and was fidgeting.

"Aeona."

"Right, umm. There aren't a lot of clothes here your size, so this is all we could find." He held up the clothes he brought for me. I looked at them and groaned inwardly.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

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**Law's POV**

"What is this?" I asked flatly as I looked at the scene before me. I just came out of my room for coffee and the kitchen was occupied by the entire crew. Judging by their conversations, it seemed as though my newest addition to the crew was causing the ruckus. I walked over to Bepo.

"What is going on here?" I asked the polar bear. He shrugged.

"It's the new girl, everyone's excited because we've never had a female member on our crew before. They're really curious about why you let her join." Bepo shrugged again and yelled when he was tackled from behind, slim arms snaking around his neck as a brunette's head bobbed over his shoulder, a smile on her face.

"Wow, your fur is really soft Bepo!" The polar bear blinked at the compliment. Somehow my doctor's senses were saying that his cheeks were warming up.

"Thank you." He said awkwardly. Aeona giggled and slipped off of him, walking around so she stood in front of me.

"Hello captain." She said with a grin on her face. I ignored the greeting.

"What are you wearing?" I asked.

"I'm wearing clothes obviously. Do you like it?" She gave a little spin on the spot to show off what she was wearing. I glared at her.

"I can see you're wearing clothes, but why are you wearing mine in particular?" She looked down at the yellow/black sweatshirt with the heart pirates logo on the front and dark, rolled up jeans she had on. She filled the clothing well, but it was longer because of the height difference between her and myself. I was a head taller than her so I smirked when she looked back up at me.

"Penguin said there weren't a lot of clothes here in my size, so he brought me these to wear." She crossed her arms and leaned on one hip as though to say 'deal with it'. I sighed and turned around to walk back to my sanctuary of a bedroom.

"When we surface you'll go and get some new clothes, I don't need all of mine disappearing." As I was walking away, I could hear the crew already starting to whisper.

"He took that a lot easier than I thought he would." I heard Shachi whisper. Most of the crew hummed in agreement. I grabbed a fork off of the nearby table and threw it at him without looking. There was a small yelp and then a collective gasp. I looked over my shoulder in time to duck out of the way of the returning fork.

"You shouldn't have done that." I said as I was getting up to face the thrower. Her face was smiling as she sat on a chair at the table.

"It's just karma, you shouldn't have thrown it first. You could've killed him you know." I smirked at her comment.

"I don't believe in karma." She shrugged and ran a hand through her dull brown hair.

"I don't either, I mean, it's just a name for a circumstance where what you do comes back at you, whether it's good or bad. But I think it only works for the bad things. You have to work for the good things yourself, it won't be given to you." I blinked at her explanation. Is she some kind of philosopher? She sighed and asked the navigator when we would arrive at the next island.

"We should be there in a few hours." He told her.

"Great, maybe I can find a weapon for myself while we're there." Suddenly I was curious about the way she fights.

"What weapons can you use?" Bepo asked her. She scratched her head as she thought. Does she know how to use any weapon at all?

"I can pretty much use any weapon, but I think I would use knives, swords, bows or guns. I'm not a fan of big bulky weapons." I snorted, I'll believe it when I see it.

"Really? Can you show us?" Penguin begged for a demonstration. The other crew members called for one as well.

"I really don't think this is the place for it. Why don't we wait till we get to the next island?" She sweatdropped as she tried to push back the bright-eyed crew pushing in around her. This went on for a moment before she caved in and decided to show them some knifework.

"You guys stand back away from me now, I don't want any of you getting hurt." I sat on a chair and leaned forward, putting my hands together in front of me as she took a couple of the kitchen knives out of a drawer. I smirked as she stood there without moving, one knife in each hand, the crew surrounding her while giving her space.

"Here goes nothing." She whispered silently to herself. I raised an eyebrow, is this the first time she's doing this? Aeona suddenly flipped the knives around in her hands and started slicing the air around her intricately. I sat up, really interested now. Grabbing an apple from the barrel next to me, I threw it at the back of her head and smiled when she smoothly stopped a sequence and spun around to slice the apple cleanly in half. There were gasps and cheers coming from the crew as I continued to throw apples at her in various ways. She cut them all in half without fail and even directed the pieces onto the table after enough of them littered the floor, which made the chef protest.

This went on until all the apples ran out and I threw the barrel at her, which she finished off with an impressive slice with both knives. What was supposed to be a small demonstration led to the depletion of all the apples, a barrel that was cut evenly into four pieces, a dumbstruck crew and a girl that was panting from the effort of slicing it all. I clapped my hands slowly and the rest if the Heart Pirates started clapping and cheering as well. She got up from her stance and smiled as she gave a bow.

"Not bad for your first time Aeona." I said. Her smile became wider and she walked over to me after putting the knives on the table.

"That's the first time I've heard you use my name, captain." I rolled my eyes at her. It probably won't be the last time either. The rest of the crew rushed in and congratulated her and asked questions about where she learned it. I perked my ears up, where did she learn to use knives like that?

"Let's just say that one day I didn't know and I woke up the next with all that in my head." She heaved a great sigh and put her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily.

"I have it in my head, I just haven't practiced it into my body enough yet." Ah, so that's why she was uncertain at first. It's true that just because you know how to do it, doesn't mean you can do it. She needs to practice more until her body can remember it on its own.

"Good job." I reached my hand out and ruffled her hair, despite her protests, and turned to finally walk back to my room. There was still time before we surfaced anyways.

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**Aeona's POV**

I reached my hands up to fix my hair as I watched Law's back move away from all of us. How did he know it was my first time trying the knifework? And how the hell was I able to pull that off? Damn! My accuracy, speed and reflexes were absolutely amazing! I still need to work on my stamina more though. Cutting all those apples in time really wore me out.

After apologizing and leaving the kitchen, I walked into my new room and plopped down on the bed, sleep claiming me immediately.

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**Well there you go, a bit more action in this chapter and definitely more of Law's perspective.**

**Leave a review and tell me what you think, it will really help me out.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	7. Outlaw At Last

**Whitwhit1893:** Thanks for the suggestion, but I'd rather not check that fanfiction out because it might make me second guess what I want to do for this story. Besides, I already have a plan in place. Thanks anyways!

**I'm trying to write as much as I can for this story, please be patient with me. I'm constantly trying to write at least 2,000 words each chapter.  
**

**A new chapter to keep you going. I made it extra long to apologize for making you wait so long. **

* * *

**Universe One**

**Outlaw at Last**

A knocking on my door woke me up from my nap, it was polite but urgent at the same time. I called for them to come in, sitting up on the bed. The door opened and Penguin stuck his head into the room.

"We just surfaced, captain wanted me to give you this so you could get clothes and weapons." He held up a wad of 1000 Beri bills. I raised an eyebrow at the amount I was given. Law seemed to be more generous than I initially thought, unless he just wanted his clothes back, but it looked like there was enough for me to get a good weapon as well. I walked over to Penguin and took the money.

"Thanks, I'll just get myself ready before I go out." He nodded and ducked out of the door, shutting it on the way. I put the money aside on the desk that... wasn't there before I went to sleep. How did I not wake up when someone brought it in here. I shook my head and pushed the thought away as I walked into the bathroom that... also wasn't there before. I was planning on asking Law to install the bathroom, but I hadn't told anyone yet. Oh well, at least it's here and no one else will be using it, it's my personal bathroom now.

I looked in the mirror and washed my face. After I patted it dry, I put my hair in a high ponytail, I wish my hair was longer. I nodded at my reflection, grabbed the money, and walked out of my bedroom, making my way to the sealed door in the submarine. I stopped as I was passing Law's room and decided it would be a good idea to let him know I was going out now. My hand was held up at the door, about to knock, when I heard a soft snoring from inside. I opened the door to see if my assumptions were right and yes, they were. Law was lying on his back on top of the sheets of the bed, taking a few steps forward I could see his face as it was facing the wall. I spied his hat sitting on the dresser in the corner of the room and grabbed it, glancing at Law to make sure he wouldn't wake up. Giggling softly as he shifted his arm to above his head, I quietly made my way out of the room and pulled on the hat, it was so fuzzy I loved it!

I climbed up the ladder and pushed the door open, walking out onto an area that resembled a deck. The island we were at had a nice, long stretch of sand before it became grass leading to a town. I walked down the length of the submarine and jumped down onto the beach lightly. The nap gave me a lot of energy so I was ready for action.

"Aeona!" Someone called from the submarine. I turned to see Bepo coming through the door. I waited for him as he ran towards me.

"What's up Bepo?" I asked him curiously.

"Captain told me to accompany you if you went out." I nodded, loving how polite the bear was.

"Sure, at least it's a lot better than going alone." We walked towards the town in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, there just wasn't much to say. Strolling through the busy town, I spotted a weapons shop nearby and walked in that direction. It was a small shop in the front and through some double doors at the back I could see an area a blacksmith would occupy. I admired the rows of knifes, swords, guns, and cannons. I picked up a few and slid them out of their sheaths, giving the air a few slices. They were crafted pretty well from what I could tell, but they just didn't feel right to me.

"Are you looking for something miss?" The clerk behind the counter inquired. I nodded and he came over to me. He was a small old man, but he looked he was the one smithing from the muscle tone he had.

"I'm looking for something small and easy to use that won't bother me much when I'm not fighting." He looked me over and nodded to himself before turning around and walking back behind the counter.

"Ranged or close-combat?"

"I can do either one but I think I'll go for close-combat first." He nodded again before he disappeared under the counter. I could hear metal scraping metal and wood as he searched for the thing he was looking for. Occasionally he would poke his head up and look me over, evaluating my physique to find the best weapons for me. After a moment he stood up with a few different kinds of weapons and lay them out carefully on the counter. I walked over and admired the weapons that were in front of me. There was a long knife with a slim blade set beside its leather sheath, a katana in a white sheath decorated with black metal work in the shapes of iris flowers, a pair of twin hooks that could be held like claws, and a chain and sickle of simple design.

"Choose one." The clerk simply said. I glanced at him before studying the weapons closely. I picked up the knife and spun it in my hands. A small weapon that can easily be concealed, can be a great advantage when fighting in tight spaces, to be used with speed and agility to get around enemies defences to attack the weak point.

"Does this knife have a twin?" I asked. He shook his head. I placed the blade down on the table.

"It is a good knife, but I feel like I could use another with it because it is a small weapon." His eyes sparkled and I moved on to pick up the twin hooks. They were both a fair size and S-shaped leading down to perpendicular wooden handles, making me hold it like claws with the hooks coming out from between my middle and ring fingers. I gripped them uncertainly, I know a lot of different fighting styles with weaponry, but I don't think I could've used these hooks effectively in any case. The hooks had a point but no edge, useful for grabbing and pulling enemies down, but with my size it wouldn't work as much as if a bigger, heavier guy used them. I replaced the hooks on the table.

"I don't have experience with these kinds of weapons and I doubt I could've used them effectively." The older man nodded and I held up the chain and sickle, swinging both ends around carefully. This weapon reminded me of Kohaku from the manga Inuyasha. The chain was about fifteen feet long with a weight at the end and the sickle curved nicely with an inward edge. I had knowledge of how to use it but I was honestly afraid of hurting someone if I lost control of it. Enemies could grab the chain and pull it and if they knock the sickle down it would take time to pull it back, especially if it was stuck. It's useful for both ranged and close-combat attacks but even with the knowledge I had on how to use it, I didn't trust myself with the chain and sickle. I quickly wound up the chain and lay the weapon down.

"Good weapon, but I have no confidence in using it." Bepo frowned at me and the old clerk gave another nod. As soon as I laid my eyes on the last weapon, I felt something in my heart reach out to it, enticing me to take the katana into my hands faster than I picked up the others. As soon as I held it, I felt a thrum coming from within the weapon. I'm not sure why but I felt a sense of familiarity as I examined it.

The sheath was a beautiful pearly white with black metalwork wrapped around the entire upper half of it. The black metal was carefully shaped into iris flowers and vines that looked as though they were about to wave in the breeze. I wrapped my right hand around the black hilt and carefully tugged at it. It stuck for a moment before it slid out smoothly with a brilliant flash of light. The old clerk gasped and his eyes flew wide open, as though he was seeing the sword for the first time. The blade was of the darkest onyx colour with nearly invisible iris flowers lightly engraved on it and yet it all seemed to become a clear colour as I spun it around slowly. It was easily the most beautiful weapon I've ever seen. The katana pulsed along with my heartbeat and I realized that _this _was the weapon for me.

"Ooohh, you are the one he was talking about!" The old clerk pointed at my face and jumped up and down excitedly.

"Who was talking about me?" I asked as I slid the katana back in its sheath. The clerk ran around the counter and stopped in front of me, grabbing my shoulders.

"It was so many years ago but I remember that day perfectly. He gave me the sword and said that a girl would be able to draw it, that no one else could. I searched and searched for a long time for someone who could use it and now your here, just like the young man in white said." He shouted out with joy and let go of my shoulders to jump around in circles happily. A young man in white? Could he be the same person who brought me here?

"Hold on for a second!" He stopped jumping around and stood in front of me with a gleeful expression.

"Do you know this guys name?" I had forgotten to ask him myself before stabbing the knife in my chest. The old man furrowed his brow as he thought about the past.

"No, he didn't tell me, he kept his hood up as well. But I remember he had a nice claymore sword." Nodding my head, I remembered the weapon being clipped to his back.

"You keep that sword, it's yours, no need to pay!" He smiled like he had just found the One Piece.

"You on the other hand, would have to pay for that!" The old clerk whipped around to glare at Bepo, who was holding a pistol in between his paws.

"Thank you so much for the sword. Are you sure I dont have to pay for it?" I held the katana closely with both hands. He turned back to me and smiled reassuringly.

"Yes, yes, don't worry about it. The swords is yours! Now I'm sure you have some where to be so, polar bear, put the gun back and get out. Please come again young lady, you know a lot about weapons and I could teach you more next time!" He was talking so fast and excitedly I didn't understand most of what he said. But I was grateful for his kindness in giving me this weapon. We were rushed out the door and I could still hear him cheering inside as we walked away. I strapped the beautiful katana to my left hip and practiced walking around without getting my legs tangled around the sheath. It was incredibly light and easy to handle. Now to get me some clothes.

Bepo and I walked around the town admiring its wares. From the merchandise in the stores we passed, I could tell that this island prospored in Seastone. So of course the marines would make use of the seastone found here and set up a base and port.

"Stop right there pirates!" I turned around to see marines rushing towards us. I stood there calmly while Bepo shifted on his feet nervously.

"I don't even have a bounty yet, how would they know I was a pirate already?" Bepo shrugged. The marines surrounded us and pointed their rifles and swords at our faces.

"You've been surrounded, put down your weapons and nobody gets hurt." I snorted. No way they were going to play nice. But at least I can practice some swordsmanship here. I used my thumb to flick the katana out an inch. The marines instantly tensed up.

"Did you really think that you could fool us by disguising yourself as a woman?" One of the leading marines yelled at me.

"What do you mean disguise myself? I am a woman!" I yelled back at him. Some of the marines were surprised about my voice.

"HA! As if you could get away with that Trafalgar Law!" I blinked. What the hell? What would make them think I'm Law? I looked down at my clothes and reached a hand up to the fuzzy hat. Oh. Well shit.

"I'm not Law you dumbasses, I'm just borrowing his stuff." I drew my katana and dropped into a ready stance, both hands around the hilt.

"I just came here to buy my own clothes." The marines charged at me without any orders and I began to dance around them, slicing at their legs and arms. I didn't want to kill them yet. But I think I'll have to work up to that if I want to survive in this, or any other universe. Bepo jumped around and attacked the marines around him with a martial arts style I recognized. It was one of the more common fighting styles, I knew how to fight with it and I've seen it in a lot of action movies. The polar bear was very proficient in using the crane style, kicking at the marines. My katana sliced through the marines smoothly and although I tried not to make my attacks fatal, I haven't practiced with the length of the weapon. We fought until most of the marines were on the ground bleeding or unconscious.

"Get Commadore Smoker!" One of the marines bleeding on the ground yelled at his unharmed comrades. With scared faces and bulging eyes, they ran away from us. When there was no one left to fight I sheathed my katana and walked to the marines I cut down.

"You guys should know that this is my first time fighting marines." I crouched down near the head of a conscious marine. He was bleeding rather heavily, I'm gonna need to learn more control with my katana, some of them were close dying. I called blue fire into my right hand and tended to the marines that had fatal wounds, just enough so they wouldn't die. I know this is unusual for a pirate to do, but I felt that I didn't want them to die by my hands till I was ready for it. I got a lot of strange looks from the marines that were conscious and I could hear them whispering about devilfruits. I sighed.

"I'm not a devilfruit user if that's what your thinking." They looked me with disbelief in their eyes. I sighed again. Such narrow-minded people. When I finished healing them, I stood up and continued walking through the town with Bepo in search of a clothing store. I was eager to get rid of my current outfit now that there was blood splattered on it, Law wouldn't be happy about that.

"You're really good at fighting." I glanced up at the bears face.

"Thanks, but I need practice with this sword. I'm surprised I didn't hurt myself with it, I mean, it _is_ my first time fighting with a katana." I looked down at the sword hanging from my hip. It stopped emitting any energy and was now a cold weapon. _  
_

"You're first time fighting with a sword? But you used it so well! Where did you learn to fight like that?" He was so surprised he didn't realize he had stopped walking. I stopped and shrugged.

"Same way I learned how to use knives I guess." His mouth was gaping open and I had to wave my hand front of his face before he shook his head and started walking again.

"Was it your first time doing that with the knives too?" I nodded and strolled over to the clothes shop we were about to pass. I could feel Bepo staring at me intently as I browsed through the clothes. Picking out a few shirts and pants, I walked over to the change room to make sure they fit before getting some underwear, I was seriously lacking since I didn't pack anything before coming to this universe. I really didn't think things through before stabbing myself. I paid for the clothes and pocketed the extra money, which was a lot since I didn't have to pay for the sword, and changed into a new outfit before walking out. My love for the fuzzy hat was too much for me to want to take it off, so it stayed there on my head. I let down my hair so the hat would sit on it more comfortably. I was now wearing a light blue tank top and dark grey jeans with my black and white sneakers I wore when I came here. Bepo and I were on our way back to the submarine when we came across a light-haired marine I recognized easily.

"Hey Smoker!" I waved to him and he scowled when the marine next to him pointed at us. Smoker took out his jitte and started making his way towards me. When he was several feet away he stopped walking and pointed his seastone-tipped weapon at me.

"I don't like hurting women, but if you're a pirate I won't be any easier on you just because you're a girl." I shrugged and calmly drew my own blade.

"Nice to meet you too, Smoker-san." I could clearly see him clench his jaw.

"You know my name, now tell me yours." Smoke was rolling off his shoulders as he prepared to fight me.

"Gladly, my name is Aeona. And it'll be my pleasure to kick your ass." I readied my stance and smirked when smoke started coming out of his ears in anger.

"You're as incompetent as that strawhat." Smoker charged at me with a yell, his lower half becoming white smoke. I ducked under his attack and spun around to slice him, only to scowl when my katana passed through him harmlessly. My opponent smiled and stabbed his weapon down at me. I swiftly dodged to the side a moment before the jitte was digging into the ground where I was standing, Smoker tugged it out of the dirt and continued to throw attacks at me. I kept on dodging his attacks and blocking his weapon with my own, unable to harm him in any way yet. This was a very one-sided fight so far And I was gritting my teeth as I stayed on the defensive. The only way I knew to beat him was with haki, which I am unable to use.

What alternatives could I use to beat commodore Smoker? I reeled back my left arm and put energy into my fist, throwing it forwards to connect with his face. A grin came across my own face when I heard a satisfying crunch. Smoker flew back before landing on his back, gasps and yells could be heard from the bruised marines that were lying on the ground, Bepo had taken care of them while Smoker and I were having our duel. My opponent lay stunned on the ground before getting up, a hand over his bleeding nose.

"You're dead, pirate!" He screamed at me. I looked around for a moment before turning my attention back to him.

"Umm, no. I think you might be blind because I'm not dead yet, I'm still here, alive." I drew out the last word for emphasis and I could see an angry tick mark appear on his head.

"Raaaagh!" He charged at me again with his weapon raised, unleashing a flurry of attacks on me. Smoker was clearly pissed. I dodged his attacks easily and threw in a few punches loaded with energy, I seem to have found my own version of haki from the grunts I was receiving from the logia. I also had energy running through my sword to slash at his arms and legs, even attempting to stab through his abdomen. Smoker tried his best to avoid my attacks while still wailing on me with his jitte. We kept on exchanging blows until he was heavily injured and limping on his left leg, meanwhile I only had a few cuts at the time.

"Are we done yet, Smoker?" I asked tiredly. Using this much energy had started taking its toll on me, my movements were already starting to get sloppy and more deeper cuts were appearing on my body. Smoker noticed and pressed his attacks harder on me. I stumbled and cried out when his jitte stabbed through my right shoulder, a triumphant smile gleaming on Smokers face, despite the many injuries I caused him. My knees hit the ground and we stayed like that for a few moments, both if us panting. I couldn't attack him with my katana since his weapon was in my sword shoulder and he was standing just out of reach of my fist, holding onto his jitte tightly with one hand.

"I think we are done, pirate." He crouched so he was eye level with me, still out of reach.

"Aeona was it? Who's your captain?" He demanded. My bangs shadowed my eyes as I smiled, a frown crawling onto Smoker's face. It quickly turned into surprise when I reached my left hand up to wrap around the jitte and pulled it deeper into my shoulder. I smiled wildly up at Smoker as I slowly moved closer to him, ignoring the pain that was blossoming in my shoulder.

"Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart Pirates." I stared right into his eyes before mine flickered to the figure behind him. Smoker spun around but it was already too late.

"Room." The blue orb expanded around us and Smoker swore loudly. I gasped as Law's nodachi cut through me, allowing him to pull out the jitte and cast it aside. Before I could complain about him cutting me, he put me back together and swiftly swiped his hat off my head, placing it back on his own. I grumbled as I got up and put my katana back in its sheath, but I didn't miss the strange look on his face as he studied my weapon. After a moment he looked back up at me.

"Heal yourself we're going." He ordered. I nodded and summoned blue fire to my left hand before bringing up it to my opposite shoulder, I let out a soft sigh and smiled when I felt the pleasant warmth along with my flesh stitching up the hole.

"Law!" Smoker yelled. Right. I forgot he was still here. My captain ignored him and started walking towards the submarine, Bepo and I followed close behind. I turned to face Smoker as I was walking backwards.

"Sorry, we'll have to continue our duel next time." He fumed and was about to yell at me when Law knocked him out while Smoker was still in the room he made. He went slack and fell forwards onto his face. I giggled as I turned away and followed my captain to the submarine. Once we arrived, the three of us walked in and I went to my bedroom to drop off the clothes I bought, then I brought Law's bloody clothes to the laundry room deeper in the submarine. I had dinner with the rest of the crew and had long conversations about the day with Shachi and Penguin before going to my room and sleeping the night off.

* * *

**Smoker's POV**

"60,000,000 Beri bounty!" I yelled angrily at the marines in the base.

"Commodore Smoker, don't you think that's unreasonable amount for a first bounty?" The marine holding the notepad asked me timidly. I slammed my fist onto the table, making the cut muscles in my arm scream in pain.

"This girl was able to face myself, a commodore, and not be defeated. She wasn't even being serious in our duel, she was only trying to cut my arms and legs without killing me. Imagine how dangerous she would be if she really went all out. And she's even with the goddamn Heart Pirates! That's Trafalgar Law's crew, one of the worst generation pirates! That alone makes her dangerous if she made it onto his crew! Now get your ass on the den-den mushi and tell HQ to issue the posters!" The marine saluted and hurried out the door. I sat down and looked at the picture I was given of the girl.

"Aeona, why did they only get a smiling picture?" I growled to myself.

* * *

**Aeona's POV**

Walking into the kitchen, I pretended to ignore Law staring at me As I went to the fridge and grabbed an apple pie that the chef made earlier. There we're a lot of pies since he had to use all the apples I cut yesterday. I took a fork out of one of the drawers and was walking out of the room when a hand grabbed the top of my head and spun me around to face Law.

"What? Are you gonna scold me for getting in trouble with the marines yesterday?" I asked, annoyed. His hand was still on my head and it was digging into my scalp painfully. Law kept on staring at me until I winced at the pain his squeezing my head brought.

"Don't touch my hat." He said flatly. I rolled my eyes, is that all he's mad about? The fact that I was wearing his hat? Well, I did steal it while he was sleeping, but it was really fuzzy and I loved it.

"I can't promise you that captain." I told him. He scowled at me before squeezing harder on my head. "Ow!"

"Hey, Aeona!" Shachi and Penguin rushed through the kitchen door with a newspaper in hand, but stopped when they saw the scene before them.

"I'm sorry for interrupting whatever you two were doing." They bowed and turned to walked back out. Law let go of my head and walked to the counter to get coffee.

"Wait you two!" I called to the pair and they stopped in the doorway to turn back at me.

"What did you want to tell me?" I asked them. They both smiled and Shachi held up the newspaper so I could see.

"We wanted to say congratulations Aeona." Penguin piped up. I took the newspaper and looked at it. My eyes widened when I realized it was a wanted poster, of me! There was a full size picture of me standing with my dark katana gleaming dangerously in my right hand as blue fire covered my left hand and right shoulder. I had cuts in various places on my body, but none of them were bad. The most noticeable thing was that I had a peaceful smile on my face. I looked down at the text on the bottom of the poster and gasped.

"60,000,000 Beri?" I looked at Shachi and Penguin with wide eyes, a smile spreading across my face. They nodded excitedly.

"Yup, not bad for your first bounty... 'Onyx Blade' Aeona."

* * *

**Phew, finished. Im still working on my artwork and I already got fan art from a friend, but I can't show you until that character has been introduced yet.**

**I'll get the artwork done eventually. Please leave a review on what you think of this chapter, it always helps.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	8. Changing Hands

**CallmeEevee: **Wow! Thank you so much for your reviews, it made my day. Ok, where to start? Yeah I love the name for this story too, when she moves on the the next universe it'll be its own story under the name War of the Shadow Specters: Universe Two. Yes, I got the energy heel thing from that fanfic, I'm happy you noticed, credit goes to her, I'm currently reading it as well. I'm happy I got to make you laugh and yes, Killer wasn't at the top of his game there, and yes Kidd was sooo pissed off, but I love having him look stupid because of his anger. Thank you for that tip for chapter 6, I'll go back and fix that and it'll just be a small addition so you don't have to reread it. And you'll see Law and Kidd's reactions to her bounty in this chapter. Phew, that's a lot to say.

**MsPatricia: **Yes, I had to make Law mad at her for the hat, it was inevitable after all. Thank you so much!

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **Sorry I got your name wrong there, no hard feelings 'kay? Aeona actually has had a lot of stuff put in her head like, how to use magic, tons of fighting styles, knowledge of weaponry, an idea of what she's up against and why she is so important, a little of how the bridges between the universes work, and yeah, that stuff. While she knows a lot of cool things, she needs to train to be able to do them and some stuff takes more energy and power, which she knows she can't do yet. Plus some of the information is buried in her mind because she isn't ready to consciously know until her heart, body and power is strong enough. Right now she's being left in the dark about who the guys in white are and what would really happen if she failed. And yeah, I wanna wear Law's hat too.

**Well, I'm happy now. This story has made a lot of progress and I'm excited for where this story is going. I have universes lined up to be taken care of and OC's waiting to be introduced into the story. Shhh, I'm not supposed to reveal them yet!**

**A new chapter for my amazing readers!**

* * *

**Universe One**

**Changing Hands**

**Killer's POV**

"How the fuck did we miss her?" Kidd yelled into the air with rage. The redhead was so set on finding the girl that we didn't leave Sabaody for a few days. Now we were on the ship and sailing out. Meanwhile Kidd was pacing on the deck, a wanted poster of Aeona crumpled in his fist. I was impressed by the amount the marines set for her first bounty, first bounties usually aren't that high.

"You should've ended the game when we had her." I leaned against the railing of the deck, crossing my arms and legs casually. Kidd stopped walking and threw his hands up in exasperation.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that she was gonna run from you? And you need to remember that you were with her you fucking blonde." I looked away from him and stared at the ocean in front of the ship.

"Your fault for not finishing the game Kidd." I could feel him glaring at the back of my head.

"I don't need a reminder." He growled before he continued pacing around, grumbling to himself. I sighed and left the noisy deck for the peace of my room.

* * *

**Law's POV**

"Not bad for your first bounty... 'Onyx Blade' Aeona." I raised an eyebrow. They nicknamed her after her weapon, but I guess can't complain since it was an impressive katana. Beautifully crafted and yet a sturdy weapon for battle, but it's not made of metal which is unusual. I'll need to examine it later.

"Wow, I like the name they gave me, but I didn't think my first bounty would be so high." Aeona said with a smile as she studied the poster. That Commodore she was fighting must be pissed at her to put that much on her head. But I got to hand it to her, she held her own against a logia who turned into smoke. I need to learn more about her abilities.

"Smoker's probably angry because he was almost beaten by a newbie pirate." She laughed and the two idiots joined in. I rolled my eyes and sipped my coffee, black, I don't like anything else in it.

"That was the guy that could turn into smoke right?" Penguin asked. Aeona nodded and folded up the poster.

"It was hard fighting him at first since I can't use haki." Both of my eyebrows went up, then how could she fight that logia at all?

"But I used something similar to haki that I could fight with. I still need to train and increase my stamina to be able to use it regularly in a fight though." I nodded my head slowly, at least she knew her limits so I don't need to keep an eye on her in the battlefield. It was still reckless of her to pull that jitte into her shoulder, and it would've been a pain to fix if she couldn't heal herself.

"What's with the blue fire on the picture though?" It was Shachi's turn to ask a question. Now I could learn a little more about her powers.

"I was healing myself, I can use five different coloured fire, but I've only practiced using three of them. The blue one is for healing, Smoker's weapon went through my shoulder and I needed to close the hole." She reached her left hand to her shoulder and touched it lightly. There wasn't a single mark to indicate she was ever injured, whatever the blue fire did, it was very thorough in the job.

"It takes a lot of energy to use the blue fire on myself since it takes energy from me and whoever I'm healing." She added. Shachi and penguin stared at her in amazement. Jean Bart poked his head into the kitchen, evidently eavsdropping.

"Can you heal old scars?" He asked. Aeona furrowed her brow in thought.

"I haven't done that before, but I could try. Why do you ask?" The large man squeezed into the kitchen with difficulty before answering.

"There is a mark on me that I want to be rid of." She nodded and put the poster on the table.

"Where is it?" Jean Bart turned around and pulled off his black A-shirt, revealing the 'Hoof of the Soaring Dragon' brand of a slave human on his back. I noticed Aeona's eyes fill with sadness as she stepped forward and put a hand on the mark. She closed her eyes and calmness spread onto her face as blue flames blossomed from her hand. Jean Bart shivered and the two idiots gasped. The burnt flesh began to peel off and fall to the floor as newer, unscathed flesh grew to replace it. Sweat started beading on her forehead as she continued to heal the old scar, apparently this took more energy from her than when she was healing her shoulder. Probably because she had to remove the burn and grow new flesh instead of just stitching an open wound together. This kept on until there was no sign of the brand left on Jean Bart's back.

"There." She removed her hand and slumped down, Penguin and Shachi rushed to catch her before she hit the floor. Jean Bart reached behind his back and tears swelled in his eyes when he couldn't find any mark at all. It's strange, seeing such a large man cry.

"Thank you." He whispered softly as he pulled his shirt back on. Aeona was barely staying conscious as she was being held up by my two crewmates, but she managed to smile.

"Anytime." She slurred before she fainted. I placed my cup down on the table and walked over to her.

"Do we put her in her room or on the medical bed?" Shachi asked, turning his head to me.

"She just exausted herself, it's nothing serious. I'll put her in her room." I gently took her into my arms and walked out of the kitchen. I kicked the door of her room open and lay her on the bed. Taking a face towel from her bathroom, I wet it with water and wiped the sweat from her face and lay the cloth over her forehead.

"You're really interesting, Aeona." I said softly, then I turned from her and paused in the doorway.

"I know you'll become even more powerful than you are now." With that I closed the door quietly behind me.

* * *

**Kidd's POV**

Killer went back to his room so now I don't have anyone to bitch at. I let out a low growl before hollering at the navigator.

"Oi, are we there yet?" He looked up from the map at me and shook his head. I swore and stomped my boot on the deck.

"It'll be a few more hours till we get to that island captain." Killer noticed the booth in the background of Aeona's picture. It was selling seastone stuff and my navigator said that there was an island nearby with a marine base that had a ton of seastone. So I can get her on my ship and kick marines asses while I'm at it. I don't fucking care if Law won the fucking game, I want to know what the hell she could do. I uncrumpled the wanted poster and looked at her picture. Aeona didn't look like she was banged up too bad, and she was smiling while blue fire covered her shoulder. The katana she was holding gleamed dangerously as crimson blood dripped off the tip. I smiled, at least she could fight.

A few more hours passed and we finally docked on the island. My first mate told me to keep a low profile, as usual, but I didn't fucking care. We walked around the town and destroyed the group of marines that tried to stop us, along with a few nearby buildings. I had to deal with Killer's bitching at me about keeping a low profile, but I ignored him like I always did. We went all the way around to the other side of the island where I found that shitty doctor's piss yellow submarine. I jumped on top of it and banged on the door.

"Open up you shitty doctor, I'm taking her with me." I yelled as I kicked at the door. Killer turned around to face behind us, his blades spinning.

"She's already a part of my crew, I beat you in that game on Sabaody, or did you not remember?" I spun on the spot to see the shitty doctor standing on the beach with a smirk, a shopping bag on the sand by his leg.

"I don't fucking care, she's coming with me you piece of shit!" Purple sparks crackled in my hand as I jumped down onto the beach and charged at him.

"I'll beat your ass and take her if I have to!" I screamed in rage as we began to battle on the beach.

* * *

**Aeona's POV**

"Ugh." I put a hand on my forehead and felt the towel lying across it. I flipped it over and sighed as the cooler side of the towel rested on my face, my other hand reached around behind me and I felt my back far anything that might've appeared. I winced as I remembered the pain I felt as I was healing Jean Bart, I didn't feel the pain itself, but I could see and feel the memory of the mark being branded into his back. His screams of pain was almost unbearable to listen to, it was like watching a cornered animal cry for help that wasn't gonna come. The memories and information in my head about the blue fire did not include anything about this kind of experience I just had, although I suspect this won't be the only time. It was my first time healing someone other than myself, and it was a much more painful injury than any I had healed myself of. Maybe that's why I could see that memory, an event like that could never be forgotten, or forgiven so easily.

The submarine shook as though something slammed into the side of it. I got up, grabbed my katana and rushed out the door, ignoring the dizziness that came with getting up too quickly. Climbing up the ladder, I pushed through the door to see Law and Kidd going head to head on the beach.

"She's coming onto my ship right after I beat your ass you shitty doctor!" Kidd yelled.

"Like I said, she's already a part of my crew" I facepalmed, I really didn't want to have to deal with this argument again. It was just like on Sabaody after I healed the scratch on my arm. I spotted Killer standing nearby on the submarine, he was watching Kidd fight by himself, but was ready to jump in if he needed to. I turned back to the fighting captains and drew my katana. Jumping into the air, I cloaked my black blade with regular orange fire and sliced into the ground between them. They immediately stopped and faced me, since I had caught their attention.

"Would you two stop arguing about that? I'm not some toy that can be taken." I let the line of fire on the ground go out as I stood up and sheathed my katana. Giving Law a quick glare, I turned to Kidd.

"I'm gonna have to be sailing with your crew some of the time anyways but that doesn't mean you have to hunt me down after the first few days." Kidd smirked at Law and he stuck up the middle finger in return.

"Aeona, you're already part of my crew. You can leave whenever you want after I learn about your powers, but I'm not gonna let you join this idiots crew." He told me seriously. I rolled my eyes.

"I said I would be a part of your crew _for now_." I emphasized the last two words.

"Besides, both of you drew that knife so technically my fate is temporarily tied to both of you, which means I have to switch between your crews while I'm here." They both had confusion on their faces, although Kidd showed it more openly.

"What the fuck do you mean while you're here? You ain't going anywhere but with me." I shook my head and rubbed my temples. I guess I forgot to tell them I'm not from this world.

"I'll make it simple, I'm not from this universe and I have other universes to be at after this one because I have a very important quest to protect these universes and my own." Disbelief was all I could see in both of their faces. Despite the fact that their personalities and appearances are so different, they can be so much the same sometimes.

"Oh c'mon, did you really think there would be people in this world that had powers like this without eating a devilfruit?" I sprung blue fire in my left hand and regular fire in my right to make a point.

"Then what is this quest of yours that puts you here?" Law asked me. I opened my mouth to let out the information in my head, but inner bells and alarms rung, telling me not to say it. So I compromised my words.

"All I need to do is help you two get to where you want to go." Kidd scooped me up onto his shoulder and walked away from Law. I didn't fight him since I knew I would need to sail with him and his crew for a bit anyways.

"Then you can help me find the One Piece if that's what you're supposed to do."

"Yeah, whatever." Law stared at me with accusing eyes, but let me go with the red-head since I didn't fight him.

"Sorry Law, I'll be with you guys again soon. You'll see-HIIII!" I yelped when Kidd slapped my butt, I smacked him on the back of his head in return but he only chuckled. Killer jumped off the submarine and joined us in our march back to the Kidd Pirates' ship.

* * *

**Law's POV**

I watched Aeona get carried away by the idiot red-head and I was struggling not to take her back since she was going willingly. I've been taking note of her behaviour for the few days she was with us, and it was clear she was telling the truth when she said she wasn't from this world. I walked back into the submarine and went into the kitchen to find Bepo.

"We're going under right now. Get everyone at their stations." I ordered. My first mate looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"But what about Aeona? I saw her running out a while ago, aren't we gonna wait for her to get back?" I shook my head.

"She's with the Kidd Pirates now. Get this submarine under the water, we're leaving." I walked out of the kitchen and made my way to my room. So Aeona had a reason to be with both the red-head and myself, but why? And who is that blonde man who brought her here in the first place. There was more she wasn't telling us and I intended to pull every detail out of her the next chance I got.

* * *

**Oooh, Law is scary.**

**YES! I HAVE FINISHED IT!**

**I have artwork of this fanfiction up on my deviantart page now! Go check it out! It's only one painting, but I worked really hard on it. It's called "Testing Out My Powers". It's a painting of Aeona from Chapter Two 'Long Awaited Beginnings' Take a look at it on my profile QudirlRider.**

**Please don't forget to leave a review, it always helps.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	9. The Kidd Pirates

**CallmeEevee: **Kidd was just being persistant. Can't be helped really, he goes for what he knows he wants.

**I posted this story on Wattpad as well for anybody who would rather read it there.**

**New Chapter Yay!**

* * *

**Universe One**

**The Kidd Pirates**

_Clamp_

I stared down at the metal cuff encircling my left wrist. Thoughts of why it was put there went through my head until I realized...

"What the hell, Kidd? I'm not gonna run away you dumbass, get this thing off me!" I attempted to slip my hand out through the cuff but he activated his devilfruit ability and pulled me in front of him. I was floating above the ground as the cuff was being affected by Kidd's magnetic fields, my arm was above my head as I dangled there, fuming.

"I'm just making sure I don't have to look for you again. It was a pain in the ass to find you." He crossed his arms and grinned at me as I tried to kick him in anger. When they didn't reach, I pulled out my katana and resorted to lighting his already flame-coloured hair on fire. I drew back the flames around my katana when, swearing, he deactivated the magnetic fields and grabbed at his hair, trying to put the fire out. I dropped to the ground and ran to the other end of the ship, we had already set sail for Sabaody to get the ship coated and Kidd was already being suspicious of me getting away. I wouldn't have this damn thing around my arm if Killer hadn't suggested it to him. Ideas of ways to get back at the masked blonde ran through my head, at least until the cuff started yanking at me again.

"No!" I wrapped myself around the railing and held on as the cuff tried to rip off my arm. I groaned in pain and closed my eyes. When the cuff stopped pulling, my eyes snapped open to find the red-head's boot inches from my face. I reflexively leaned backwards and rolled out of the way, resulting in me not having anything nearby to hold onto. My shoulder flared in pain as I was suddenly hoisted up by the cuff again and Kidd grabbed the front of my shirt. His hair was singed and his goggles were around his neck instead of his head, letting his bangs cover most of his face. His mouth was in an angry snarl and his eyes stared me down through his hair. I sprung blue fire, to the amazement of his crew, to try to ease the pain in my shoulder. It sucked 'cause my other shoulder was injured not too long ago. I looked Kidd over again and nodded.

"I like the makeover, it suits you." I told him cheerfully, holding a stiff smile as I tried not to laugh. Kidd just let out a low growl and promptly tossed me overboard into the water. The other members of his crew let out a few screams in protest, saying I couldn't swim. Really? They thought I was a devilfruit user too? I resurfaced and spit a stream of salt water out of my mouth.

"You know that won't work on me Kidd." I yelled up to him as I treaded the water.

"I know, but that's not why I threw you in there." What? Why would he throw me in the water then? I felt a large presence coming from below me at a rapid speed.

"Oh, shit!" I swam to the side as fast as I could before giant jaws came up and ate the water where I was a moment ago. A familiar sea king with zebra patterns rose up above me and let out a gutteral roar. I ignored the pain in my shoulder and swam towards the ship, which was still sailing away!

"Hey asshole! Get me out of here!" I yelled. Even if I was too far away for Kidd to hear, I knew that Killer had really sharp ears and it wasn't long before I saw him jump off of the ship and slash at the sea king. As he opened a cut on it's face, I could feel the malicious killing intent rolling off of him in waves. After the sea king gave a roar of pain, it turned and swam in the direction of the Red Line. Killer splashed into the water nearby and made his way towards me with incredible speed. I froze in fear when he came up to me, he was still cloaked in that killing aura as he grabbed me around the waist and side-stroked towards the ship. The killing aura he had went away after a bit and I relaxed in his grip. I looked up at him, but couldn't tell his emotions with the mask in the way. I turned my head away and let him drag me back to the ship.

"Thanks." I felt him stiffen for barely a moment, but said nothing. I guess he wasn't expecting that, well, I guess saying thank you to someone who kills people regularly isn't something to be expected. When we reached the ship, I felt a tug from the cuff and it raised my arm slowly.

"Umm." I looked at Killer's mask and he turned to me, listening.

"Hold on?" I said hesitantly. His grip tightened around my waist as we were lifted out of the water and onto the deck, my shoulder aching. Killer let go of me as soon as his feet touched the wood, but I let myself sink into a sitting position, flaring blue fire around my shoulder again. There was a crowd that consisted of the crew surrounding me, Most were looking at the blue fire while a few of them looked like thay wanted to ask me a question. The only people I recognized were Killer, Heat and Wire. I heard Kidd's boots stomping on the deck behind me and I looked up above me right into his face. His goggles were now back around his forehead and his face was emotionless, which I found was rare since he usually had a grin or a scowl on it. His hair was still burnt and... is that a bald spot?

"What?" I asked. He reached down a hand and tried to grab the blue fire, only to come up with nothing. His eyes shifted to mine and his other hand reached up to his head, (he was trying to cover the bald spot, sad to say he missed his mark) and I got the message. I nodded and stood up, taking the blue fire into my right hand, before lighting his head on fire again. Only this time it was blue. A collective gasp came from nearly everyone nearby, Killer was motionless as I focused on trimming the burnt area and regrowing his hair to the way it was before. It didn't take long and I put the fire out, it didn't take a lot of energy either. Kidd felt his hair for a moment and grinned.

"Welcome to the Kidd Pirates, Aeona. You're the doctor." Someone from the crowd protested and he glared at them, making them shut up, before barking at the rest of the crew to keep the ship sailing. I think he might have been the doctor. I shook my head.

"I'll only be with you guys for a while, I have things I need to do with Law's crew as well remember?" Kidd's smile quickly changed into a frown.

"You're not going anywhere with that on you." He pointed to the metal band around my wrist and his grin came back. I glanced down at the cuff before an idea came to my head.

"How about a bet then? As long as I have this on me, I'll be with your crew." An eyebrow went up on his face and he crossed his arms, clearly interested.

"If I manage to get this off of me without anyone's help, I'll go back with Law for a while. If not, I'll be with you until I do." This would be a good chance to practice that other flame. Kidd smirked at me.

"Deal, but if you're planning on stealing the key, I already threw it in the ocean. And that's titanium around your wrist, good luck melting or breaking it." He chuckled and turned around, walking inside the ship to his room. I shook my head again.

"That's not what I plan on doing." I said softly. Everyone else was busy and the only one who heard was Killer, who tilted his head to one side slightly before walking up to me.

"Come with me, we'll get a room ready for you." I nodded and followed him into the cabin. We spent the next few hours clearing junk out of an old bedroom that was turned into a storage room and I washed some bedsheets that I found in one of the dresser drawers. Eventually I had a clean bedroom with a single bed, a dresser and I asked other members of the crew to install a private bathroom. The one on this ship was public as well, I find it sad that both Kidd's ship and Law's submarine lacked a woman's touch. Whatever, I have my own room in both of their places. Once I got my room set up, I made a note to go shopping for more clothes to have on this boat. My other clothes will stay in the submarine for when I go back with Law's crew. I sat down on the bed and focused my energy into both of my palms, I could feel my energy drain faster than when I used any of my other flames. After a moment, sweat was beading on my forehead, but I smiled as I looked down at the two small purple flames sitting in my hands.

"Hey, dinner's ready. Get some food before it's gone." Kidd's voice broke my concentration and the purple fire disappeared. Well that was a surprise, Kidd actually came and got me himself. I thought someone else in the crew would tell me to come for dinner.

"Alright, I'm coming." I heard his footsteps walk away and I grabbed the towel by the large bowl of water that was the substitute for a sink. After drying my face, I put my hair in a high ponytail and made my way to the kitchen. I walked in just in time to see Heat breathing fire into a pan to burn off the food residue before sticking into the sink.

"How do you do that?" I asked him. He glanced down at me before he continued washing the pan. Why is everybody on this crew so much taller than me? The rest of the crew were eating and drinking savagly at the tables, it seemed more like they were partying although Kidd and his first mate were nowhere to be seen.

"Well, I pour some soap on this sponge and I scrub at the pan until-"

"No, I meant how do you breath fire?" He looked back at me and nodded before drying his hands and pulling a small shell out of his mouth.

"I used to live on an island outside the Grand Line, close where the fabled Skypia used to be in ancient times on the other side of the Calm Belt. One day, when I was a little brat, I found this shell on the beach and I was told it fell out of the sky where Skypia is. The island's crazy old coot said this was called a flame dial, I liked it, so I kept it. When I showed some of the other kids in my village, the town bullies tried taking it from me, but I swallowed it so they wouldn't take it. It started blowing fire while it was inside me and I had to puke it out and go to a doctor so they could treat my internal burns. After I was healed, I practiced with it under my tongue so it doesn't bother me when I use it." He demonstrated by pushing the knot on the dial, letting a short burst of fire out of the opening before carefully putting it back in his mouth.

"Eat, I saved a plate for our new member." He nodded in the direction of a nearby cupboard and I went over and opened it. There was a plate with a lot of meat and some steamed vegetables hidden inside.

"Thanks." Heat gave a grunt to say he heard and I took the plate of food out, walking past the crowded tables to eat out on the deck. When I arrived, I was surprised to find Kidd and Killer leaning on the railings. Said captain was staring out into the ocean while the first mate was eating carrots and cucumber sticks... through the holes of his mask. Did he ever take the damn thing off? Not that I was complaining, it was actually funny to see a few of the vegetable sticks sticking out of the front of his mask, wiggling as he was chewing on them. I walked past the two and sat down by the mast, leaning against it, and enjoyed my food in silence.

"What else can you do?" I looked up with a mouthful of meat and met Kidd's curious eyes. I swallowed the meat and choked for a bit before answering.

"I'm not sure, I'm still figuring it out myself. I've been, ah, told that I can do a lot of things, but I haven't tried most of them yet." I stabbed a few steamed vegetables with my fork before putting it in my mouth delicately.

"What can you do now?" I hesitated before answering. Why did he want to know about my powers?

"Heal, ignite fire, fight?" I shrugged before I stabbed some more vegetables. I heard quick and light running footsteps and ducked to the side by instinct. Killer turned and slashed at me again even before the two pieces of the plate crashed onto the deck. I rolled further away and drew my katana, getting into my defensive. Killer's scythe's were spinning as he relentlessly threw his attacks at me, from what I knew of his fighting style, he uses his speed and agility to slay his enemies before they have a chance to react. But I was relying heavily on my sixth sense to even put up with his speed, dodging his attacks and blocking when necessary. I have a lot of training to do if I'm going to keep up with this quest. I was getting tired and he was starting to nick me whenever my dodges were slow.

"Oof." Killer kicked me in the gut and my back slammed into the railing, knocking the wind out of me. My vision was blurry and I barely moved out of the way in time before Killer's weapons took out a chunk of the ship. I kept on backing up away from him as he approached me slowly, his blades spinning while his killing intent was all I could feel. I was panting heavily but Killer looked like he barely broke a sweat.

"Time out, I didn't want to fight." I cried out desperately as I continued to back up. My eyes stayed on him since it was dangerous to take your eyes off of your opponent, especially if it's Killer that you're fighting, which I was. He will take advantage of any opening he sees to kill his enemy. My eyes widened and I gasped when my foot landed on a piece of the plate that was cut earlier and I slipped backwards. Killer lunged forwards for the final blow.

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**Aww, I just wanted you guys on the edge of your seats. Did it work? I hope it did. I had fun writing this chapter. So much fun.**

**I got a taste of Soba noodles for the first time, it was really good.**

**Please leave a review, it always helps.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	10. Pain

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **Don't hate him... I like Killer.**  
**

**CallMeEevee: **You'll see. ;)

**Let's continue with the action shall we?**

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**Universe One**

**Pain  
**

"Oi!" The scythe stopped right at my neck, drawing a thin line of blood as Killer turned towards his captain. Tonights moon made him look like a feral beast from my angle.

"We don't need her dead, I just wanted to see if she could fight like she says." Killer gave a slight nod before withdrawing his weapon. I let out the breath that I didn't realize I was holding as I tried to process the fact that I almost died. I lay stunned on my back until the man who had just tried to kill me put out a hand. I just stared at it until he reached down and pulled me up by my upper arms. He got me onto my feet but kept on supporting me when my legs buckled from fatigue.

"She needs to train for stamina the most." Killer said matter-of-factly. I sighed, I knew that already.

"But she has good reflexes and reaction time. Aeona can fight." My eyes widened and I looked at the masked blonde. That was huge compliment to my abilities if it came from a guy like him. Kidd nodded and grinned at me.

"Not bad kid." I rolled my eyes at him.

"That's _your _name, and I'm not a kid, I just turned seventeen a few days ago." He chuckled and I wondered what it was that he found funny.

"Even better." He uncrossed his arms and started walking towards me, a strange glint in his eyes. I dawned on me just what he meant and I held my katana up in front of me defensively, shrugging off Killer's hand on my shoulder.

"No, no way in hell am I sleeping with you, pervert!" He just grinned at me as he took the blade of my katana with one hand and grabbed my waist with the other, pulling me up against his muscled chest until our faces were level and inches apart.

"Wasn't gonna ask." He said teasingly. I snarled in disgust and let orange fire engulf me entirely, lighting Kidd's coat in a glorious blaze.

"Fuck!" Kidd yelled. I pushed away from him and the fire around me went out as I slumped onto the deck, almost all my energy completely drained. Kidd pulled off his coat and was trying to stomp the fire out until Killer scooped it up and threw it into the water, then he used his weapons to blow out the flames that had spread onto the deck. Kidd ordered Killer to get his coat and his first mate immediately dove over the railing. I blinked when I was lifted up by the cuff in front of Kidd. We stared at each other for a moment, him glaring angrily, before he punched me in the gut and sent me rolling across the deck, my katana flew out of my hand and stuck into the deck furthur away from me.

"Ugh." I coughed up blood and he grabbed me around my neck, holding me above the ground so we were face-to-face as he strangled me. I tried to claw at his hands, but I was too weak to do anything besides leave light scratches on him. I was losing consciousness, fast.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you bitch!" He seethed at me. Choking, I tried to spark another fire, but I didn't have any energy left. I can't die here, I _can't__!_ My vision was getting blurry and my arms slipped down to dangle beside me as spots appeared.

"I cannot allow you to kill her when she has barely begun on her quest, Eustass." I blearily saw Killer's scythe blade around the back of Kidd's neck and... someone elses sword in front of his face. Whoever it was, they were behind me and I was barely aware of myself as I slipped out of Kidd's hands and into someone elses warm embrace before darkness took over.

* * *

**Law's POV**

I coughed and put a hand to my neck. What the hell was that? I was fixing some of the medicines in the cabinet when I felt a tickling sensation on my neck and spots appeared in my vision. I don't think these symptoms were caused by any illness I knew of. Thoughts of Aeona drifted into my mind and I jumped when white fire wrapped around my hand. I opened and closed my hand when I felt no heat, the white flames were simply... there. I thought back to when the knife Kidd and I pulled out of her became white flames before disappearing. Did something happen to her? What did that idiot red-head do?

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**Killer's POV**

I stood there, dripping wet, with my blade turned on my captain. I knew that if I didn't stop him, he really would have killed her. It was an unspoken law that no pirate should ever kill their nakama, Kidd has killed a lot of pirates, but even he knew of this. I don't mind killing off other crews or anyone else, but I wasn't gonna let him break that sacred rule now. It took me moment before I realized that there was another man pointing a sword at him. He was dressed in a long white coat and held a claymore sword in Kidd's face. His chin-length hair was a bright blonde with pink streaks but his face was emotionless and I couldn't feel anything coming from him. This is the first time I've come across someone I couldn't read. He was crouching and holding the unconscious girl against himself protectively. Kidd clenched his fists at his sides and fumed with anger.

"Who the fuck are you?!" He yelled at the man. No reaction or reply.

"You've barely been here for a week and you're already getting yourself killed." The blonde man looked down at Aeona and studied the bruises that were appearing on her neck, the shuddering breaths I heard from her were enough to tell me that she was still alive. All of a sudden, blue fire covered her completely and the bruises healed, along with all the cuts I had given her in our fight. Once she was healed, the blue fire receded until there was just a small white flame resting on her chest. White fire also appeared on Kidd's hand, but he didn't notice. I withdrew my weapon from Kidd's neck but kept them ready at my sides.

"The three of you are linked and as long as she is in this universe, it will stay that way." So what she said was true. The blonde guy suddenly spun his sword around and stabbed at the deck. I tensed when I heard shrill screeches and noticed the scratches appearing in the wood. A section of the claymore sword was invisible and black liquid dripped down to the deck, where it hissed and melted into it like acid. Then he reached over and ignited green flames, which spread to reveal a large insect. It looked like a giant centipede that was about four feet long and half a foot wide. It had a deep purple, almost black, hue to its shell and struggled to escape the sword that was stabbed into the center of it's tail end, trying to get to Kidd.

"This is why she is here. To protect you from these shadow specters that you have no chance of protecting yourselves from. She will be here until the threat imposed on this universe is diminished." As strange as it is, he was right. I had no idea that the creature was here at all. Just like with the blonde man, I could not sense it at all. How could I protect Kidd and myself from something I had no way of sensing?

"I don't need your help, or hers. I'll be fine without you guys and if any of these things come for me, I'll just kill them before-" I put a hand on his shoulder and he turned to me. I shook my head slowly and his eyes went wide when he understood what I meant. We both turned to the man when he put Aeona down and drew two long knives from under his coat. He stood up and stabbed one of them throught the insect's head, then used the other knife to slice through the centipede's shell and down it's length. It gave one more scream before it fell silent, slumping down without any life. He pulled the weapons out of it's body and siphoned the black blood off with a motion of his hand before putting them away, the claymore clipped onto his back by a few straps. With another gesture, the corpse lifted off of the deck and lit up in black flames. He also burned the blood that had dripped onto the deck, fixing the wood with blue fire as well. It was painfully obvious that this man had much more power than Aeona.

"Hmm, she may need to remain here longer than I first intended. They have already begun to invade." He made sure that there was no trace of the creature left before he knelt beside Aeona and put a finger to her forehead, closing his eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Kidd yelled and moved towards the man, but stopped when the claymore was shoved in his face again. I hadn't even seen him unclip it.

"Telling her all she needs to know. Let me complete this task and I will be on my way." We watched in silence as he stood up again and walked away from us. He stopped and turned his head slightly.

"Do not let her life become extinguished. She is more important in this war than you can ever know." Bright purple flames flared up high in front of him and he stepped into it without any hesitation. When I couldn't see him anymore, the fire blew out and we were left alone.

* * *

**Aeona's POV**

I floated dreamily in a void, the darkness fluttering around me. Vague thoughts drifted through my head, wondering if I was dead.

_White._

I looked down at my chest to see a small white flame, resting over my heart.

_Screech!_

Visions of giant bugs spun through my head, bugs of every kind. What are these things?

_Shadow specters._

Is that what they are? I could see them crawling through forests and on the sides of buildings. Always standing by and watching, learning, studying, before they scuttle back into the shadows. It looked to me like they were scouting, learning about the targets before bringing the information to more powerful beings.

_Roar!_

Big brutes melted out of the shadows and wreaked havoc to villages, killing the people. They all looked different, like tigers, like gorilla's, like many predators, but they all had the same purpose and dark purple color. The bugs crawled ahead of them, showing them where to go. Are they shadow specters too?

_Beware._

I felt fear grow in the pit of my stomach as I witnessed another form of the shadows. Black hoods concealed their faces but their eyes terrified me. They were all human in shape, but had an aura like nothing I have ever felt before. Fear. Hate. Evil. Darkness.

Pure Malice.

I shuddered as the visions of those creatures disappeared. Instead, strings of images flashed through my mind, telling me how to kill them and more of what I needed to do. The katana I had was not of the One Piece world. Instead, it was created specifically for killing those dark beings. My head throbbed as all the information was crammed in my head, it took a moment before I could make sense of what I was seeing. I organized my thoughts so I could go over them again later when I felt a buoyancy lift me from the void and into the physical world. I groaned and my eyes fluttered open. My heart was still pounding heavily from what I saw.

"She's awake." I heard someone call to someone else. I looked to the side to see Heat sitting by my bed, obviously looking out for me. I sat up and patted myself over, making sure I wasn't dead before I said anything stupid.

"Heat." He turned back to me. I clasped my hands together before continuing.

"What happened?" He hesitated for a moment.

"I'm not sure. Whatever happened up on the deck, I wasn't there to see it." I nodded and smiled up at him. Killer walked into the room and Heat excused himself. The masked blonde sat down on the chair Heat was in a moment ago and looked at me for a moment. I noticed that his presence was much stronger than it was before and I could sense some of his emotions. When did get this power-up?

"Why are you upset? Or are you angry?" I asked him tentatively. He perked up, surprised, before he relaxed and answered.

"I almost didn't make it in time." I stared down at my hands. So he did hold his weapon against his own captain, to protect me.

"Thanks." He gave a quick nod.

"I... learned some more while I was asleep." He leaned forwards, indicating that he was listening. I glanced up at him, looking for his eyes that were hidden behind his mask.

"I'm gonna be staying in this universe for a couple of years. And when I'm done everything I needed to do, I'll be going to the next one." We looked at each other in silence. I sighed and looked at my hands again.

"Where will you be going next?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"I don't know, just like how I didn't know I would be coming here first." At least I was starting to calm down.

"So you've never been to another world before this?" Killer tilted his head slightly and I shook my head.

"What happened? I know Kidd tried to kill me and you stopped him, but there was someone else right?" I asked him. We looked at each other and he hesitated.

"There was a man wearing a white coat." He told me truthfully. What he said helped me make sense of everything I remembered and learned.

"So he was there? With pink and blonde hair and a claymore sword?" He nodded.

"Thanks again." Killer stood up and walked towards the door.

"Wait." He stopped and looked at me.

"While I'm here, can you be my brother? Please?" I was an only child when my parents died and I felt the pain of losing them all over again. Killer seemed to sense my sadness and came to me, putting a hand on my head gently.

"Yeah." I smiled, feeling relieved that I wouldn't be alone again.

"Thank you." I said softly, feeling a tear roll down my cheek. My new older brother wiped it off and retreated from my room, closing the door gently.

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**HOW WAS IT?! Killer was a little OOC, I know.  
**

**I want to know what you think of this. Now you know why the title of this story is what it is. I'm probably gonna have slower uploads over the winter break because I don't have internet in my house. I might go to the library and use a computer there. Yeah. I'll do that.**

**Please leave a review, it always helps.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	11. First Kill

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **Thanks for the typo warning.

**CallMeEevee: **Okay, yeah, I get it. Killer was a little OOC in the last chapter. But what can I say? I like the guy. So that's how I'm writing him to be. He's practically Kidd's brother too. I wanted him to be protective of his nakama despite the fact that he will kill marines and other pirates mercilessly. I'm not angry, I just overlooked that fact about him. But seriously, how did I do? 私はそれが異なるようなら、私のことを怒ってはいけません。**  
**

**Oh geez, I just remembered everything I said to my friends I would be doing for Killer in this story. It's gonna be soooo much fun when I write all that stuff. :D**

**A new chapter to smooth things over and I wrote it in less than 30 hours!**

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**Universe One**

**First Kill**

"How long did you say I was asleep again?" My eyebrows were so high they were hiding in my bangs. Killer looked down at me as he chewed on some carrot sticks through the holes in his mask.

"Six days." It really hadn't felt that long, but I was unconscious so how was I supposed to know? I shook my head slowly before I leaned against the railing of the ship beside him. We had arrived at Sabaody while I was asleep and most of the crew were out, Kidd being one of them. I had helped myself to the food that Heat left by my bed and there was no one else on the ship besides Killer, myself and Wire, who was staying in his room. I had taken to calling my new older brother Nii-Killer and he questioned it at first, but then he didn't mind when he saw that I liked calling him that. I would call him differently but most of the things I came up with sounded weird and stupid, so I stuck with that one.

"Can I go shopping Nii-Killer?" I asked him. He tilted his head in question.

"I need some clothes." He nodded in understanding. After my little power-up, I've been able to get a slight sense of the emotions of the people I am most familiar with. Since I knew about Kidd and Killer the most on this crew, even before I came to this universe, they were the only ones I could sense the emotions of at all. Although Kidd makes his emotions obvious without me needing to pay attention, Nii-Killer was more reserved and so I could barely sense his. But it was enough to have a conversation without it being awkward.

"Let's go." He stood up and walked towards the plank that leads off the ship. I smiled and bounded after him. We walked together to the shopping area of the archepilago and I tried out a lot of clothes. What we got for me in the end were a few shirts, all different shades of blue, my favorite color. Some jeans, shorts and a pair of gladiator sandals. Killer helped me pick out the clothes that were easy to fight in after I chose the ones I liked. We ran into a few separate groups of two or three marines and we, being as awesome as we were, dispatched them fairly easily. I still couldn't bring myself to kill any of them though. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

"Is it hard to kill someone?" I asked, looking up at Killer. He thought for a moment before replying.

"The first time is, but eventually it gets easier." I nodded. It's the same as sprinting in track, the first time you're really out of breath, but after practicing it over and over, you get used to it and its not as hard as the first time.

"When was the first time you killed someone, Nii-Killer?" He didn't say anything and we walked in silence for a bit. I stared down at the ground in front of me. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it.

"It was a long time ago, back in the South Blue." I looked up at him again, listening. He kept on facing forwards as he talked.

"Kidd and I were kids back then and always caused trouble around the village. One day, we ran into some small-fry pirates and a fight broke out between Kidd and their captain. It came to a point where the pirates brought out knives and they ganged up on the two of us. They wanted to kill us… but we killed them instead." He fell silent and I could feel the distance coming from him as he reminisced in the past. I noticed his hands clenching tightly and I wondered if killing someone for the first time was really as easy as he made it out to be.

"I'm sorry. For making you remember." He glanced at me and put a hand on my head.

"Don't be, I've never regretted killing them, or anyone afterwards." He sounded slightly happy there. Well, he _has _been killing people for years if he started that young. And it was the most he's ever said to me since I came here. I heard barking and turned around to see a dog running towards us. He was a small dog with _really_ long and _really _shaggy white hair, how could he see where he was going with all that fur in his eyes. I noticed him stop and sniff the air before running at us again, no wait, he was running at me. I braced myself as he crashed into my legs, almost toppling me over, before I reached down and pet his head.

"Hi there. What are you doing here?" I looked at it's name tag and it read:

Balto

Marine Tracker

Hostility Level: 8

"What's hostility level?" I looked up at Killer as Balto ran around my legs happily for who knows how many times.

"How vicious they naturally are against everyone. What's the number?" I glanced down at the dog.

"Eight." Without a warning, Killer swept me away from the dog and readied his weapons. When the dog couldn't get to me, he started barking at Killer and I could see what he meant about being naturally vicious. Killer was swiping his weapons at the dog and it dodged them quite swiftly. I noticed the frayed bit of rope attached to it's collar.

"Wait!" I quickly skirted around Killer and grabbed the bit of rope. The dog turned and barked, but stopped when he realized it was me.

"Sit!" Balto sat down quietly, tongue lolling and tail thumping the ground. I was careful to keep hold of the rope.

"Aeona!" Killer took a step towards me and the shaggy dog barked and snapped on his legs, keeping him back. When he was far enough away, he stopped growling and looked at me happily.

"It's alright, it's not gonna hurt me." Killer kept his weapons ready but didn't say anything. I pet the dog on the head before turning to him.

"I've always had a connection with animals, most of them won't hurt me." I continued to pet the dog, who licked my face affectionately.

"I don't think he liked being tied to something, so he chewed the rope to escape." I held up the rope for Killer to see. He relaxed a bit, but was still ready to attack if Balto started going wild on me.

"Balto!" The three of us turned to see several marines running towards us holding swords, nets, and a couple of those poles with a wire loop on the end to put around animals necks. Killer held up his weapons, ready for a fight.

"Please get away from the dog miss, it is extremely dangerous!" They ran around me and carefully put the wire loop around Balto's neck. He started barking at them and pulled against the pole until another one went over his head as well. I got up and stood back with Killer, giving Balto an apologetic look. He whined at me until one of the marines kicked it.

"Shut up! You shouldn't have run away you stupid dog!" My eyes went wide and I clenched my fists. Balto kept on fighting the marines and they all started to kick the dog to get it to behave. My fists shook and my bangs shadowed my eyes as I gritted my teeth.

"Stupid dogs who don't listen to their masters should die!" Another one of the marines lifted his sword and slashed at the trapped dog. Balto yelped in pain as his blood sprayed on the ground, crimson colors dripping off the edge of the sword. I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled out my katana and attacked the marines with a shout of rage.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I screamed as I sliced into the marines, not caring if they begged me to stop. They were hurting Balto and even if he was mean to everyone else, I couldn't let that happen. Red blinded my vision and I kept on slicing until Nii-Killer wrapped his arms around me, pulling my now red katana out of my hand and throwing it into the grass. I fought against him, still feeling the need to hurt the ones that would attack a trapped dog.

"Enough, Aeona. They're dead." I stopped fighting and looked at the scene I had caused, shivering uncontrollably. All the marines were on the ground, bleeding profusely from the many wounds I had given them, and no matter how hard I listened, I couldn't hear any of them breathing. I started crying along with the shaking, sobs racking through my body.

"I killed them." I sobbed quietly. Killer didn't know what to do with me, but decided that the best thing to do was to stop me from seeing the bodies. He put a hand over my eyes and I grabbed it desperately, holding it there.

"I killed them, I killed them, I killed them!" I said over and over. Killer was wrong. It wasn't just hard to kill someone, it was absolutely painful. Killer let go of me and I sunk down on my knees, still holding his hand to my face.

"I killed them." I said again. I heard the dog I was trying to save whining somewhere in front of me before something wet tickled my face.

"You had a reason to, just like I did." I fell silent at Killer's words. He was right, the only reason I needed to kill them was to save Balto. I stopped sobbing and let go of Killer's hand, but my shivers wouldn't go away. Nii-Killer took his hand from my face and I winced when I saw the bodies again. I turned away from the scene and emptied my guts out on the ground beside me. Killer went to my sword that he threw away and wiped it clean on the grass before sliding it into my sheath for me.

"Let's go back." He said quietly. I nodded as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I didn't want to be here any longer than I wanted to, I felt unclean. I got up unsteadily and kept my eyes away from the bodies that were breathing only moments ago. I almost felt sorry for killing them.

"Bark!"

Almost.

* * *

**Kidd's POV**

I listened in on what some of the tourists were talking about. Something about a girl killing a bunch of those stupid marines. I growled, irritated that someone else killed them and I didn't. After a bit of wandering around, I found where she killed them and I have to say, she did the job pretty well, if a little messy. I grinned, just how I like it. Some other marines were asking the tourists who it was that killed them. The ones who saw it all picked out the wanted poster of the one I didn't expect to kill anyone.

"Fuck." I turned away from the commotion and started making my way back to my ship. She's never killed anyone before from the way she fought Killer. She only seemed to want to injure or immobilise them. I smiled again. Well, at least she was starting to fight like a pirate.

* * *

**Tell me how I did! Was Killer OOC for this one too?**

**Please leave a review, it always helps.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	12. Unchained

**animeotaku0434: **Thanks, I will. I'm kinda trying to keep Killer in character while still having him care for his nakama. But I think it's cute too! Wooo *o*

**Damn writers block... I mean, Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Universe One**

**Unchained**

I sipped at my glass of water slowly, closing my eyes. Bad decision. Images of the scene I had caused an hour earlier flashed behind my eyelids, forcing me to open my eyes with a gasp. Balto sat on the deck in front of me, lolling his tongue and thumping his tail happily. After I... Handled the marines, Balto followed us back to the ship and wouldn't go away no matter what I did. So he just stayed beside me and barked at anyone that got close to the two of us. Killer was leaning against the railing on the other side of the deck, watching me while the rest of the crew were milling about and bringing supplies onto the ship. Kidd still hasn't come back yet and the cuff was still around my wrist.

"Bark" Balto started going wild as said captain finally came back, walking towards me at a steady pace. I kept staring into the bottom of my glass, even when he stopped right in front of me, ignoring the small white dog.

"Not a bad job you did out there with those marines." I didn't look up or say anything. But I felt his eyes on me while I sensed a hint of pride coming from him. We were silent for a while and eventually I could feel annoyance in Kidd's presence. Balto was still barking at him and was now chewing on his coat, to which the person it belonged to was not pleased.

"Get the fuck off me mutt!" Kidd yanked back his coat and attempted to kick the dog. Balto dodged it and ran around to stand beside me, barking at him again. I finally looked up and glared at him, fire crackling around my hands. The red-head looked at me and tilted his head, puzzled.

"What the hell's your problem?" He asked me angrily. I still didn't say anything as I held my stare. Balto growled at Kidd and I saw an angry tick mark appear on his head.

"Where did this mutt come from?" He turned and yelled at Killer. His first mate shrugged.

"The marines. He wouldn't stop following her." Kidd spun around to face me again.

"Get the fucking dog off my ship." He growled at me threateningly. My eyebrow twitched.

"Now if he actually _would _listen to me, he wouldn't be here in the first place. Besides, he does make a good guard dog." Balto barked once to prove my point. Kidd finally lost his temper and lunged at the small dog. In a flash he froze as my black blade hovered in front of his face, wrapped in flames.

"Don't touch him." My bangs shadowed my eyes as they pierced into his. Killer straightened and stood by, ready to stop a fight if one broke out. I deliberately let my energy roll off me in waves, letting my killing intent be known. I wasn't gonna let anyone hurt Balto again. Kidd stood up and glared down at me, but I didn't miss the fleeting sense of fear from him. It was gone as soon as it came, but it was there if only for a moment. I smirked, I just scared one of the toughest guys in this universe. Balto whined and cowered a little ways behind me, it seems I have scared him too.

"He'll stay with me until I find him a good home and good people to take care of him." I turned away from Kidd and sheathed my katana slowly, the flames disappearing. My killing intent was gone, but there was still tension hanging in the air between us.

"Next island you're getting rid of that mutt!" Kidd yelled at me. I shrugged, my back turned to him, and started walking into the cabin.

"Whatever you say, _captain._" The last word dripped sarcasm and I sensed him getting even angrier. Balto followed me happily to my room, no longer afraid of me. Now I could practice the purple flame again. Ever since I came here things have been going up and down way too fast for me to really train.

"You wanna see some real magic?" I looked down at my temporary dog, who gave one happy bark.

"I'll take that as a yes." I sat down on the edge of my bed and proceeded to focuse my energy.

* * *

**Law's POV**

Theories cramped my mind as I paced my bedroom. Just how long is she going to be with that idiot red-head? I usually have a lot of patience when it comes to these things, but something about the weird sensations and the white flames just... irks me. It happened a week ago, but I'm already anxious to get her back. I still haven't learned all about her abilities yet, or her sword. My curiosity and thirst for that knowledge was driving me crazy! Besides, she's a part of _my_ crew. She's just 'spending time' with the red-heads crew.

"Captain?" A faint voice called from the doorway.

"What?" I said sharply, whipping around to face Penguin. He immediately cowered on the other side of the wall by the door, staring wide-eyed at me. After a moment I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, calming down.

"What is it?" I asked, calmly this time. Penguin slowly came out and walked towards me, if quite cautiously. He held up today's newspaper for me to take and I raised an eyebrow questioningly, leaving him to hold it.

"It's Aeona. She's the top- " I snatched the paper and turned away from him, studying it intently. Right on the front page was a picture of Aeona's wanted poster right beside the huge headline reading: 'New Pirate's Bounty Raised for Brutal Murder!' At least she was alive. I scanned the article quickly. She was on Sabaody and killed several marines, but one of the witnesses said that the marines were hurting a dog. So the red-head didn't force her to kill them? I'd seen how she fights when she was battling that commodore, she didn't want to kill anyone. Was it to protect the dog? She must be under some traumatic stress from the event.

"Change directions and head to Sabaody Archepilago." I said to Penguin without looking.

"Right." he said quickly before rushing out the door. I listened to him go before looking at the newspaper again.

"What the hell?!" Aeona's bounty was raised to 95,000,000 Beri. She was almost a supernova. Scanning the article again I found that she had kept on slashing the marines even after they were dead, whatever they did to the dog, it must have pushed her over the edge. Who knew she would care so much about a dog?

* * *

**Aeona's POV**

"Finally!" It took a couple more days, but now I can get the cuff off myself. I ran out of my room and up to the deck. Balto leaping after me.

"Nii-Killer! I can get the cuff off now!" I went over besides him where he was leaning against the railing. He looked down at me doubtfully, but didn't question my enthusiasm. I sensed Kidd coming out of the cabin and I looked over at him. He was smirking, apparently he heard. Balto was fine with my being around Killer, but he growled when Kidd came close.

"Let's see it then." I sensed his confidence that I won't be able to do it. I gave a sweet smile up at him, and was satisfied when I sensed a tiny bit of doubt.

"Then I will begin." I stood comfortably and grounded myself, clearing my mind. I held my left arm up to display the cuff and my right hand palm up. I focused my energy and called for the purple flame, feeling my energy form in the palm of my right hand. I hovered it above the cuff and concentrated on forming the shifting fire into a ring around the metal band. I drew my hand away and created another violet flame in my palm. I slowly moved the ring of fire to engulf the cuff and felt the metal band disappear from my wrist and come out of the other purple flame into my right hand. I let the fire burn out and stood in front of the captian and his first mate with a smile on my face. Kidd had amazment in his eyes but a scowl on his face and I could sense Killer being proud of me. The rest of the crew that was on the deck had their eyes on me, still processing what it was I just did. I sensed Nii-Killer's curiosity without any questions being asked.

"I created a portal and moved the cuff through it. It's really hard to get the purple fire to move." I wasn't exaggerating either. I could feel the sweat on my forehead and I quickly wiped it off with my sleeve. Balto was jumping up and down around me.

"Here you go." I held out the cuff towards Kidd and dropped it onto the deck. I turned away and made my way to the plank to get onto Sabaody.

"Oi, where the hell do you think you're goin'?" Kidd yelled at me. I looked back at him and smiled.

"Finishing the bet. I got that off without any help so I'll go back with Law's crew for a while." Kidd was glaring at me and I stuck out my tongue at him.

"Face it, you lost the bet. See ya!" Balto followed me as I rushed off the ship before anyone could say anything else. I walked around with my sixth sense expanded, I was also straining my ears for any of the heart pirates. I wasn't long before I saw Jean Bart carrying a barrel as he walked.

"Jean!" I called out, running to him and waving. He turned to see me and dropped his barrel in surprise. I stopped in front of him.

"Hey. I'm ba-" I couldn't stop the huge man from scooping me up into a bear hug. I could tell that he was relieved but he was crushing me and my arms were pinned in between my chest and his, I couldn't breath. I kicked him lightly and he put me down. Heaving gulps, I waved Jean Barts apologies away. Balto seemed okay with him, I mean, the dog was about the size of the man's foot alone.

"Don't worry about it. Where's everyone else?" I looked up at him as he picked up some of the apples that came out of the now broken barrel. I helped him gather the apples and fixed the barrel with blue flames. I found out I could fix stuff with it when Nii-Killer told me that the guy in white fixed the deck with it.

"Most of the crew are in the submarine, but captain said that he was gonna wait for the flames to die down or something, I don't know where he is though." I nodded, slowly getting what Law meant. My powers are based on fire so he was talking about me and we first met here on Sabaody in the clearing near the Human Auction house.

"I know where he is, thanks." I turned away from him and started walking to the lawless area of Sabaody.

"Anytime." Jean Bart called to me. I smiled and gave a wave as I walked.

"That's my line." I said to myself softly. On my way to the lawless area, I passed by a pet care shop and it made me think of Chou. I walked in and talked to the owner for a bit, noticing how much happier Balto was when he was in the shop, or around the owner. I decided that this would be a good place for him to stay. I gave Balto to him and although he was sad to see me go, he liked the shop and I sensed that he wanted to protect it, just like Chou. Were they distant cousins or something? I don't know.

"You stay here and protect this shop, okay?" I said seriously. He barked once to say that he understood. I waved goodbye to Balto and the owner before continuing my trek. When I reached the clearing, I found Law sitting against a tree with his eyes closed. He looked like he was sleeping but... doesn't he have insomnia or something? I approached him quietly to be sure. Crouching down in front of him, I slowly waved my hand in front of his face. I wasn't getting any reactions besides a hint of alarm in his presence. A squeak escaped my lips when he suddenly clamped a hand around my wrist, opening his eyes.

"Uh... hi." I smiled awkwardly. He smirked for a moment before becoming serious again, still holding my wrist.

"What happened last week?" He asked me. I didn't want to answer. I tugged at my arm and tried to slip out of his hand. But he had a solid grip and it was clear he wanted answers. I sighed.

"I almost died." I looked up at him to see his reaction. He still hadn't let go of my wrist and it was starting to get numb.

"How?" He really was digging for the truth.

"Someone was choking me."

"The red-head?" I didn't say anything, but something must have tipped him off since he grabbed my chin roughly and tilted it up to take a look at my neck.

"Why did he try to kill you?" He was still holding my chin so it was a little difficult to talk.

"I lit his coat on fire." He roughly pulled my face down so we were eye to eye. I tried to squirm away but he was really holding on tight. Plus the fact that I was tired from using the purple fire on the cuff and the blue fire on the barrel.

"Stop giving me small answers and tell me everything that happened." We stared at each other for a moment before I sighed. I reached my free hand up to pull his hand away from my face and he released me.

"Fine." I could tell he wouldn't give up until I did. So for the next half hour, I spent the time explaining to him about my time with the Kidd Pirates.

* * *

**Ugh, finally! I just couldn't think of what to do for this chapter and it was really frustrating me.**

**Well now you know what the purple fire is for. It's personally one of my favourite custom abilities of mine.**

**Please leave a review, it always helps.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


	13. Secrets

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **Yes! Portal! Don't know what GLADOS is but Yes! Portal!

**animeotaku0434: **At first I was thinking of a love rivalry, but she's gonna be visiting a lot more worlds. Besides, the love rivalry is not between her and the characters of the books she reads. It hasn't shown up yet but I have it planned. Sssshh, don't tell.

**I decided to change my cover because I drew it specifically for this story. It's on my deviantart page and you can buy it as a print. How does it look? I also did a portrait of the guy with the white coat. Sssshh, don't say his name yet.  
**

**Back again! Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Universe One**

**Secrets**

"Hmm..." Law said quietly. "So that's what happened."

"Yeah." I just finished telling him about my time with the Kidd Pirates. A few of the events were painful to talk about. I hugged myself tightly when I remembered those marines, I mean, a lot of people die in this world but it was my first time killing anyone. Law frowned, he seemed a little frustrated about something.

"What is it you are hiding from us? There is something your not saying about this world. What is it in relation to yours?" I looked up at him in surprise. There wasn't a lot I was hiding. The biggest secret was that I didn't want them to know that their universe is only a story in mine. I shook my head and looked away.

"I'm not hiding anything about this, I just didn't know this universe existed until I came here." Law stared at me, seeing through my obvious lie. If him or Kidd know that their paths are already written, they'll do anything they can to make it change. But that's exactly what the darkness wants. If the stories are turned off of their paths, it will collapse on itself and give the darkness an opening to my universe. I still don't know why they want my universe specifically. I have a lot of things to ask that guy next time I see him.

"Tell me everything about your abilities." I glanced up at him again.

"I don't know, I mean, I can do some stuff but I don't even know if that's all I can do. I have stuff in my head that I didn't put there and there are tons of things I haven't even tried." I babbled on until Law put up a hand, telling me to stop and I just sat there nervously.

"Then we'll start with what you can do now." I nodded and listed them off.

"I can fight and use magic. Mainly regular fire and the healing blue fire, but I can also create portals with the purple fire." Law raised an eyebrow.

"Show me." I sighed and picked up a stick, he'd already seen the other two flames so I knew he was talking about the purple fire. I handed it to him and he looked at me questioningly.

"Look, I haven't practiced it enough for a person to go through it yet and quite frankly, I don't know what happens when you go through it so just use the stick okay?" He nodded but didn't say anything. I closed my eyes and mustered up whatever energy I had left in me. I was starting to get extremely tired, but it would be good practice to increase my stamina more. I opened my eyes to see two blazing purple fireballs in my hands. I met Law's eyes with my own and gave a slight nod, indicating I was ready. His gaze shifted to the fire as he poked the stick into one of them. As soon as the tip was covered, it poked out of the other flame. Surprise and amazement flashed in his eyes as he moved the stick through the portals I had created.

"For how long have you been able to do this?" He asked me. I gave a small shrug before answering.

"A few hours maybe?" Law looked up at me for a moment before giving me a chilling smile. Then he looked at the fire and plunged his arm through it, emerging from the fire in my other hand.

"No!" I yelled, alarm bells rung in my head and I felt incredibly dizzy. I abandoned the flames as I grabbed his arm and drew it out of the purple fire an instant before they both disappeared. My momentum caused me to crash into him and he landed on his back, with me on top. I stayed there for a moment to catch my breath before I realized the position we were in.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" I pushed myself off of him and rolled to the side. Almost all my energy was gone but at least I could stay somewhat conscious. From the corner of my eye I saw Law push himself up into a sitting position before looking at the stick in his hand. At least, what's left of it. I sat up and looked at the stick. It was broken into two pieces, one was in Law's hand and the other was on the grass where the purple fire was. I picked up the fallen part of the stick and gave a small gasp when I realized what had actually happened. The end of the stick was cut very cleanly, like someone sliced at it and when I pulled Law's arm out of the purple fire, some of the stick was still through it when it disappeared. I think it was cut apart when the portals I created closed. If Law's arm was still through it when it closed, he would have lost his arm. I shuddered. I'll have to be careful when I use this fire.

"Well, it worked." I turned to see Law chuckling as he stood up. I felt the blood rushing up to my head.

"What do you mean it worked?" I yelled at him.

"That was dangerous! I told you to just use the stick. What the hell were you thinking?" I threw the piece of stick I was holding at him. "You almost got your arm cut off!"

"But I didn't." Law cut in with a smirk. I shut my mouth and turned away from him, fuming. Dammit, I can't think of a good comeback to that.

"Let's get back to the sub and by the way, welcome back to the Heart Pirates." I looked at him again before pushing myself off of the ground.

"Yeah, thanks. I-" My head felt light and the ground came up to meet me. It stopped inches away from my face and I hovered there, supported by Law's ability.

"Stop exhausting yourself so much. It's pain to carry you around." Law said casually. He seemed really unconcerned about the state I was in. Well, it's not like I was dying.

"Then don't carry me." I snapped at him. He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. I put my hands on the ground and got up again, slowly this time. The ground was tilting but I slowly got my bearings enough to walk. Law was watching me with a bored expression until I went past him on the way to the submarine. Once we got there, everyone greeted me happily and asked me where I was for over a week. Apparently their captain didn't tell them anything about what I told him and Kidd. I glanced over at Law and he looked at me with a blank face, but his eyes were warning me not to tell them about Kidd.

"What were you doing Aeona?" I looked back at Penguin who asked the question.

"I... was just training for a while, I'm not nearly as conditioned as I'm supposed to be." I answered nonchalantly.

"Really? Were you practicing with that sword you've got there?" Shachi pointed to the katana that was tied to my hip.

"Yeah, you could say that." A loud grumble sounded throughout the kitchen, stopping all conversation. Everybody was surprised at the sound and I wrapped my arms around my stomach in embarrassment, it was close to evening and I hadn't eaten anything today because I was practicing with the purple fire. From the back of the room Law gave a small, amused chuckle that eventually lead to everybody laughing, some of the crew congratulating me on how much it sounded like a dying whale. I was still embarrassed but I couldn't stop myself from smiling and joining the fun. The chef made a delicious dinner and some members of the crew brought out the booze (to which I refused politely)and we partied until late into the night, but Law was just sitting quietly by the wall, sipping his black coffee. I mean seriously? Who drinks coffee at night? And why black? I don't know about anyone else's tastes but I prefer mine a little sweeter. By the time everybody was getting to bed, I didn't realize just how tired I was until my head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next morning I woke up feeling a lot more refreshed than I thought I would be and was delighted to find the smell of apple pie wafting around the sub. I could hear humming throughout the yellow submarine and felt a slight pressure around me. I guess we're underwater. Following the smell of pie to the kitchen, I remembered that I didn't get to eat that apple pie I took out a week ago. I was gonna eat it until I healed Jean Bart and exhausted myself to sleep. Walking into the kitchen with my nose in the air, the chef greeted me cheerily.

"'Ey there sleepyhead." I glanced over to the hanging knives and tried to flatten the poof I saw in my reflection. Well, it's not really a poof, more like my hair was a little frizzy. It only gets that way if my hair dries without any conditioner and it wouldn't be like this if Penguin and Shachi hadn't drunkenly poured a bucket of water over my head last night.

"What're you cooking?" I asked him, trying to peek over his shoulder. Dammit, everybody in this crew is tall too. Even the twin idiots were just above my height, and they are average sized.

"Lunch." I looked at him again, confused. He looked at me and smiled.

"Ya slept right through the mornin' ya did. Penguin and Shachi wanted to wake you's up but cap'n said to let you's sleep, said you was exhausted by doin' somthin' or somewhat." He turned back to his cooking. At first all I could smell was the pie but now that I was in the kitchen, I could also smell meat, stew, and bread.

"I thought Law didn't like bread." The chef laughed and a corner of my lip lifted a bit.

"You're right ya are. He hates this stuff." I reached over and grabbed a small loaf and a butterknife, stabbing it and cutting it open before slathering a thin layer of butter on it.

"He might hate it, but I think it's convenient when you need something to eat." I declared before taking a bite.

"Haha, ya need to wait a little longer before lunch is ready." I slumped and pretended to whine like a child.

"But I'm huuungryyy!" I crossed my arms and stuck out my tongue childishly before I continued to eat.

"Maybe if you stop acting like a kid and causing us problems you'll get food sooner." Law said as he passed behind me to get coffee.

"Maybe if you told me what the man in the white coat said to you last night while I was asleep, I'll actually take your advice." Law stiffened and I spun to face him. He turned to me with a wary look.

"How do you know he was here?" He asked emotionlessly. I shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe it was this white peony I found beside my pillow." I brought my hand out in front of me to show him the beautiful flower.

"Looks kinda like white fire doesn't it? You and I both know that this involves me so whatever it is he told you, I probably need to hear it." We stared at each other for what felt like longer than moments before he glanced at the chef and walked out of the kitchen. I took it as a note that it was something the chef didn't need to hear and I followed after him.

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**BWAARGH! I'M SO BUSY!**

**I'm working for a four day basketball tournament, working on an assignment due next tuesday, need twelve hours of physical activity in my log book for gym class by monday, working on five different pieces of art for intended purposes, singing and playing keyboard in a band for tomorrow night's performance, have heaps of laundry to wash, dry, and fold, SCHOOL, SCHOOL, SCHOOL, . . . and this.**

**But because I care so much for my readers, I spend my time pulling my hair and trying to find a damn computer to work on for this story.**

**Thanks so much for supporting me with your reviews, they make my day and make me happy.**

**Thanks from Qudirl Rider Aeona!**


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